Warcraft: A Nagas Story
by Cenkic
Summary: A naga, banished from the deep seas, must now try to survive the unfamiliar lands of Azeroth. With old and new enemies alike, he must fight to survive. Even with new allies, can one naga hope to affect a world where everyone hates and despises him?
1. The Arena

I gave out a groan as consciousness slowly returned to me. The first thing I noticed was pain that was shooting all through out my body, remembering vaguely about getting thrown into a wall. My eyes slowly opened, allowing light and several figures to fill my line of site.

"Ah, I see yer finally awake." A gruff voice spoke in a friendly manner. As I let my vision clear, I found myself staring at my dwarven friend, Cenkic, along with a healer and several troll guards. "I knew it'a take more then an ogre chuckin ya into a wall ta take ye out." He said with a small smile.

As the healers magic flowed through my body, the pain I felt began to disappear. I returned his smile with one of my own, showing my sharpened teeth as I did so.

"I sssee you sssurvived. I take it we won?" I asked, hissing my words as I did so.

He nodded, and before more was said between the two of us, the troll guards lifted their weapons and ushered us back into the familiar large cell that he had been living in. As we entered, I was greeting by the other gladiators.

"Cenkic, Nas, glad to see you two are alive. Are you badly hurt?" Naith, a young female tauren asked.

"Na, Nas here made quite an impression." Cenkic began. "He caused quite the riot fightin three ogres bare handed, and survivin getting chucked into a wall so much that ol' Bloodstone whipped one of his own healers at take care of dis snake. Last thing he wanted was a naga with a bad back." He nudged me playfully. It hadn't taken me long to get use to the dwarfs attempt humor to keep spirits high.

Another female, a goblin, laying on her bed, looked at the two of us and waved her hand in disinterest. "See, I told ya there was nothing ta worry about." I recognized her as Parla, a very crafty rogue.

Karadan, another rogue and a human who I had recently gotten to know, disagreed. "You two had me a bit worried there. I thought you had gotten pounded into the ground or some such."

"Ha! It will take quite a bit to take those two down!" The half-orc Dak'tar said proudly, giving us a orcish salute.

I must admit that I found it interesting that here, fighting in an arena every day for my life, that I would find a kinship that had never existed before in my life. Perhaps I should back up a bit. My name is Nas'kara'nas, a naga from whom was banished from his home for helping surface dwellers. It was only a few weeks back that me and my only two friends, Cenkic Arkadas and Dak'tar Thunderblade were captured by the forest trolls and now forced into the arena, run by a powerful forest troll by the name of Bloodstone of the Gurubashi Clan. It was here that I became friends with the other prisoners, and I find myself wishing that we could spend our friendship while free from the arenas walls. Instead, though, we find ourselves as warriors fighting for our lives.

"At leassst the lassst of the battlesss are over. Now we can finally ressst for a bit." I said.

Cenkic nodded in agreement. "Aye, we all deserve a wee bit o' rest after tadays bouts."

There was a unanimous vote on that remark, and began getting into their beds, at least those who hadn't already. Ten able bodies filled the prison room besides myself, Karaden, Cenkic, Dak'tar, Parla and Naith. Kilrim, an orc warrior, a night elven priestess by the name of Onica Shadowmoon, as well as Sari Stoneheart, a dwarven tinker, and a half-elf female wizard named Tashi Kandaras made the rest of our group. Out of all of his cellmates, he had grown to like Naith, Karadan, and Tashi Although the 'home' given to us by the trolls weren't much, there were a few books, and more importantly, instruments that I could play with the others. Bloodstone, the troll in charge of the Gurubashi Arena, had given us the instruments to help keep the others from rioting, giving us something to do. While I played guitar, Tashi would sing while Cenkic playing drums, and Naith with an Orcarina. Together we could create quite the soothing music, helping everyone relax and allow them to doze off. One by one the music slowly started to fade as sleep began to fall onto the players, until I only found myself playing. Quietly I placed my instrument down and moved to the cot that was my own bed. I laid down, but sleep did not come to me. I had not told the others that I had a very bad feeling about something, but I couldn't figure out what is was.

"Sssomething isss going to happen, I can feel it." I said to myself. As these thoughts continued to plague me, sleep finally crept upon me, and I soon slept like all the others.

Morning came like all of the others in the last few weeks, me being the first to rise from my slumber. I had learned to survive with less hours of sleep that so many others seemed to need. Slowly and quietly moving myself from the bed, I moved away from the room. Despite being held captive by the trolls, we were not being treated terribly. Living quarters were giant, more then large enough to hold the ten occupants comfortably. Also, in another, smaller room that was connected to our prison was a room filled with books, most of them on the history of the world. While most would find such books boring, I find anything on history quite fascinating. For over an hour I read the books that talked of the war between the humans and the orcs, reading of how the Alliance was nearly defeated, only saved by the faction break within the horde. For an hour I read on the details of the war in the dark, once again being thankful that I had been blessed with dark vision as I continued to read the books of heros in both the Allaince and the Hordes past. I was brought out of the lands of history when the scent of food and trolls filled my nostrils. Closing the book, I quietly slithered toward the others, who were rudely awakened when a troll smacked the bars.

"Hey der, breakfast be ready for all of ya. Be eatin quickly, cause your gonna be needin your strength, and donna be tryin anytin funny." He said as he opened the gates. No one made an attempted lunge for the gates, or shout a battle cry and charge at the trolls, but sat quietly as the food was placed inside. The group got up, and found that I was guarding the food, giving it equally between everyone. They had learned quickly that they could trust me, for I always saved the last for myself, which was hardly necessary, being that there was enough food for everyone. We ate and discussed events about our past lives, explaining on this day how each and every one of us were captured or sent to the arena. Some of the stories were rather interesting to hear. All of us talked for a few hours, and the trolls came down stairs once again.

"Alrighty den. It'd be time for, ah let me see…" He pulled out a small sheet of paper and looked at it closely. " Parla, Tashi, and Kilrim, you will be fightin first up."

The two got up, and followed the trolls out toward the armory.

"I hope they will be alright." I said to the group.

Daktar gave a bellied laugh. "I have fought along side them, they will be able to handle themselves."

Karadan only shook his head. "I hope you're right Daktar. It seems the crowds have been getting board as late. I hear Bloodstone has something special planned, for he had a big speech last night, though I'm not sure what."

"This does not bold well for us." Naith said, looking down at the ground. "We really don't need any more problems then we already have."

We continued talking for nearly ten minutes, and as we did, I began to wonder if what Karadan had said had anything to do with the uneasy feeling that he had been feelings, and feared that he might be correct. Overhead we could hear the cheers of the crowd, and then one final, large cheer. We heard the doors open, and turned to see if our friends were coming back, or if we were to receive news which none of us wanted to hear. We saw them coming back, and were instantly relived, only for a new kind of worry to fill us. Kilrim was leaning on Tashi for support, who had a few cuts and wounds on her, along with Parla at their side. My eyes went wide in horror as they closed in. Kilrim had a white cloth quickly turning red covering his arm. His right hand was gone. An uproar shot through the group as they were forced inside, and both Onica and Naith rushed over to the orcs side whose face was contorted in pain. They began casting their healing spells to stop the bleeding.

I could not believe what had happened, and turned to the others. "What caussed thisss!"

Tashi turned to me, and I saw that the shock had not yet completely left her eyes. "They…we had to fight…six ghouls."

That caught everyone's attention, for it was the first time any of us had ever heard of one another being forced to fight undead. Apparently Tashi managed to nail the first one with a magic missile, causing it to fall, and that caused all of them to charge her first. The other two had jumped in the way, Parla with two daggers, and Kilram with a large ax. A huge battle ensued, and poor Tashi had only her staff and a single ice spell to use in an offensive attack. During the fight, one of the ghouls attacking Parla and Tashi had unexpectedly leapt toward Kiram after he took down his two targets with one powerful swing, catching him off guard and effectively biting his hand clean off. We had little time to watch over the injured group, for the trolls were quick to call upon the next victims.

"Next we be havin Karadan, Naith, and Dak'tar will be fightin." The forest troll announced.

Without much of a choice, the three got up and went outside. Naith gave a sympathetic look at Kilrim before being pushed beyond reach. Kilrim still groaned in pain as Onica did what she could for the wounded orc.

"I'm not likin the looks of this. Bloodstone is tryin ta make it difficult on us." Cenkic said as he looked at the wound.

"I hope the others make it back alright." Onica gave out a prayer under the name of her goddess. As we heard the crowds cheer as their battle begun, we heard our prison door open. Curious, we turned and found a female forest troll entering cell, holding several bottles in her hands and around her belt, as well as cloth that could be used as bandages.

"I be hearin one of de gladiators was hurt pretty badly mon. I be here ta give ye a few potions to ye can save de rest of yer spells. You gonna need it." As she walked toward us, she looked side to side, and dropped to a whisper. "Oh, donna mention dis to da other guards."

I recognized the female forest troll as Sana'taya, one of the very few guards who was kind to our group. She would bring us extra food, give us healing potions when we had been badly hurt, tried to make sure our cloths were a bit more then rags.

"Onccce again we thank you for your hossspitality in thessse conditions." I bowed before her.

"Don't worry 'bout it to much. I know how ya be feelin, so I just be tryin ta do what I can." With that she got up and promptly left, making sure to lock the door, then moved back to standing guard for our cell.

"I could like her a wee more if she'd be kind enough at let us out." Cenkic said.

Of course we knew that it was impossible at this time for that to happen. If she did, then not only would anyone trying to escape suffer by being put up against enemies far beyond their skills to defeat, but she would also find herself in the arena. That would be asking to much for her to do, and we all knew it. We gave Kilrim one of the three healing potions, which continued on the work that Onica and Naith had begun. The bleeding now stopped, and he was not in as much pain as he had been before. I had noticed, that something seemed to be bothering her, much more then usual. I had to wonder what was happening in the Arena. Kilrim let out a grunt of pain, and I turned to see Onica doing all she could for him.

"Just take it easy, good orc." Onica said, trying to do the best she could to comfort him.

I admit I felt sorry for the warrior. He was proud and strong, one who never flinched in the face of danger in the arena was now missing a hand, which would severely hurt his fighting capabilities. One again, huge cheers shot through into the prisons, and we saw the others returning. Karadan and Dak'tar were working together to hold an unconscious Naith who was missing one of her horns, all three of them looked in pretty bad shape. As they entered the cell, they placed Naith down, and then they collapsed on their beds, panting hard. As another group from the cells on the other side were called, we were able to learn what happened.

"They sicked centaurs on us," Karadan began. "twice our number. Th…they went after Naith first. We tried to keep them away from her, but they began overwhelming us…she began to fight herself."

That caught me by surprise. It was rare that Naith ever actually battled. She did not like violence in the least, and only attacked if she was struck first.

"They were armed to the teeth, and well armored. I…I'm amazed we made it out without at least one casualty. I thought Naith was dead when one slammed his ax on her head, but it seems her horn blocked it pretty good." Dak'tar huffed out.

I grumbled a bit before speaking. "Thingsss are getting worssse. I hate it when Bloodssstone decidessss to make the battlesss difficult."

The group laid down and did their best to rest like the others from the first battle. Another group of gladiators was called from our level, and I watched as they were led outside. Just by looking at them, I could tell only one knew how to fight with any skills, and I wondered what would happen, and if any would return. Deciding to do what I could, I joined Onica and Cenkic helping to bandage our injured comrades, having some skill in first aid. The doors opened, and I looked to see the returning warriors. Only the female returned, and she looked badly injured. The battles were fierce, and I had to guess they were so because of the lack of spectators as of late. They came back to our cell, and opened the gate.

"Alrighty den. It'd be Nas'kara'nas's turn, as well as Cenkic, Sari, and Onica."

We all turned to one another, and I could see the worry in their eyes, and I have to admit, I was worried myself. I had to wonder what Bloodstone had in store for us. This meant that the group would have to go without a healer for a time. Luckily the groups condition was stabilized at the moment, so they weren't going to die on use anytime soon. We exited, and I gave a bow to them before being led down the hall. Once again my mind raced as we walked, well, slithered in my case, down the hall, taking into account everything in the area after we went upstairs, which we only saw right before and right after a battle. If we were to ever escape, I had to do the best I could in memorizing locations of doors, how many guards were at each one, likely storage rooms, and other facilities to that respect. I also had to wonder what it would be we were fighting, what terrible creatures would we be pitted up against, and what deadly traps would be called upon to end our lives? We entered the armory, where a large stash of simple weapons sat in neatly stacked rows as two trolls, a male and a female stood inside with various other weapons beside them normally not seen in the armory, and my eyes went wide as I saw the weapons. The female troll spoke to us.

"Ye, naga, will be usin dis trident and net. Dey will be your only weapons in dis fight."

I must admit, I felt excitement when I saw the weapons, for when I was captured, I had used a specially made trident, and this would be the first time in weeks I've been given the opportunity to fight with one. "Ye, dwarf girl, will be recivin dis rope, a single tangle foot bag, and a dagger. For da male dwarf, two short swords for ya. Now for the night elf gal, here be two daggers for ya, and a scroll. All of ye but da naga will be receivin armor."

All of us took the weapons and items, me probably the only one with glee on my face getting a familiar weapon back into my hands and we were told today's battle. We would be up against twelve harpies, and out of them we had to capture at least one, or we would not be feed any food for the next today's, something we could not survive without. My heart sank at hearing this, for we would be at a huge disadvantage despite the fact that the harpies would be completely unarmed. With little choice, we were all lead to the arena. The familiar cheers of the crowd pounded my ears. The place was packed more then usual, and I could guess that the other battles had been pretty fierce and bloody. The doors on the opposite end of the arena, and the harpies came out, and I was stunned at seeing them. Harpies were known to be vicious and vile creatures, one of the most disgusting and worst kept humanoids known, but these ones were very well groomed, and some could even stay beautiful. As each one took to the air, I saw a dark and evil design nearly all of them. They looked eager to tear us apart. All but one of them. The last one to take off was smaller then the other harpies, and she flew a bit clumsily, and rather then a look of evil, she looked frightened and unsure of herself. Our gazes met, and she must have guessed that I had locked onto her, because she showed signs of fear. I knew that look of fear, and realized that she was quite young. I also took notice that all over the wall, along with the spectators, were trolls, ten at least, all armed with heavy crossbows. The harpies would not be able to escape unless they all bolted at once. I heard the audience roars die down, and a voice that was all to familiar to me boomed over the Arena. Bloodstone.

"I be thankin ye all for comin all da way down here. As I have promised, da battles would not be dull or boring, as many of da bouts you have seen have been quite good, wouldn't y'all agree?" Roars of approval came from the stands, and he continued. "Now, ye be seein someone who y'all be quite familiar with eh? Da naga, Nas'kara'nas and his companions must kill all but one harpy, and try to keep da one alive and well away from da others. Are ye all ready for a battle!" The crowd cheered again.

With that he gave a signal, and a giant gong was hit, and with the sound, all of the harpies dived right for us. As I readied myself, I realized I needed to keep the harpies occupied away from the others until they were ready to do what ever necessary.

"Bird for brainsss, come and get me, you poor excussse for fliersss! Ssstrike at me, you cowardly birdsss!" I realize that this is not a well thought out insult, and quite lacking in most cases, but most harpies are not to bright anyways.

Eleven of them came at me right away, the young one still floating in the sky, and my guess she only charged forward with the others when she realized she would be killed from the trolls anyways. Dropping the net, my clawed hand caught the closest harpy by the foot that tried to lunge at me, and with a powerful burst of my natural strength, I sent her into the ground, and plunged my weapon into her. The second closest tried to rake me with her claws, but she didn't try hard enough, for her attack did not penetrate my skin. Whirling around, I plunged my trident into her chest and slammed her into the ground. The others began raining down upon me, and even my scales were not enough to keep me protected from their deadly rake attacks. Then the attack stopped, and I was able to look around and saw the most peculiar thing. Two harpies were on the ground on top of one another, one cursing as if it had been landed on, and another rubbing its eyes, as if it had been blinded. I acted quickly, slamming my trident through the two of them, taking both out in one quick attack. Another lay on the ground, dead from a dagger thrown into its back, then violently pulled out.

Cenkic was covering the other two girls as Sari used the dagger she tied onto the rope to use as a ranged weapon while Onica kept them healed. Apparently they had caused quite a ruckus. Picking up the net, I rushed over to help, and found two grounded harpies ready to fight me in close quarters combat. Out of the twelve, only six were still airborne, but seven were still alive. A noise overhead caught my attention, and I saw the young charging for me, desperation and fear in her eyes. I threw the net at once, and called upon a small spell that I had personally created myself. A small wind gust hit the net, accelerating it toward the harpy. Caught by surprise, she couldn't dodge the net in time, and found herself entangled within it. I moved to the side as she crashed into the ground, narrowly avoiding the harpies that were now trying to kill me on the ground. I plunged my trident into the first harpy, but felt the claws of the other harpy burrow into my flesh. Anger and rage filled me, and I I recognized this as a momentary blood lust, but it was all I needed as I pushed forward, and as I dug my trident out of the harpies chest, my fangs sunk into the throat of the second. A horrid screech filled my ears as blood filled my nostrils and mouth, and it was here that I realized what I was doing, and I released my hold, but the damage was done as she fell to the ground a mix of fear and pain in her dead vassalage.

A scream caught my attention, and I looked to find Onica being carried away into the skies by the harpies. She right over me when I noticed something fall from her hands. Catching it, I saw it was the scroll. I opened it quickly, and found it to be something I could use. Two other harpies were beginning to converge on her as she was lifted high enough to be out of reach of our attacks, and not high enough to be attacked by the guards. The harpies would rip her to shreds, then throw her body back into the arena. Quickly I read the scroll, and the harpy with Onica suddenly stopped, frozen in mid-air. Onica slipped through the claws of the harpy, and she screamed as she plummeted to the ground below. Dropping my weapon, I moved as fast as I possibly could, faster then I had ever moved before. I used my tail as a spring and leapt hard as I reached out. The night elf landed right into my arms with a great force. I yelled in pain a I felt my shoulder become dislocated. I had barley enough time to register this pain when a claw sunk deep into my back, tearing a nice chunk of my flesh out of me. I turned, and found that there were only three harpies left, including the one who had just broke out of the spell cast on her. The others had been killed by the two dwarves who had worked well as a team. They had dispatched three of the harpies already, and they were moving to help me out. I tried slashing at them, but the loss of blood, skin, and the dislocated shoulder was making it too difficult to fight. Cenkic leapt into the air and let loose a battle cry I had never heard before as he leaped on top of one of the harpies, brining it down. Then I heard what sounded like a minor explosion, and saw the tangle foot bag was in the air, and caught one of the other airborne harpies. As the other harpies were busy dealing with the two dwarves, I saw the last one trying to make an escape out of the next. Moving forward, I caught her before she could get out.

"Do not struggle…you will survive…I don't…want you…to die…" I managed to get out. The young harpy stared at me with fear and disbelief that she would live, and not meet the same fate as her fellow wing mates, at least not by my hands. It was then that I fell to the ground, doing all I could to keep conscious. I barley registered hearing that we were the victories as it took two forest trolls to carry me back to the cell while the two dwarves helped carry the unconscious Onica to her cell. The force of me catching her had knocked the wind out of her. I was also able to register the harpy girl being removed from the battle grounds as well. As we were placed in the cell, I realized I probably looked just as bad as the others. There was something wrong as soon as I entered. I could practically smell their fear. Onica was just starting to wake up, so this would be the best time to figure out what was up.

"Isss…isss sssomething wrong ?" I asked. The others in the group looked at the others questionably as Onica tended to my wounds.

Parla looked at me with cold fear in her eyes, something I had never seen in her, or any of the others. "I just heard about the newest recruit for the Arena that might be housed with us…"

I still did not grasp the message. What could be so dangerous as to be afraid of it after all we had been through? "And? What of it? We get plenty of new people all the time."

She still looked at me with that same unfamiliar fear in her eyes. "How many of them…are Doomguards?"

Authors Note- Well, what do you all think? This is my first true attempt with a Warcraft story, so I'm still working out the kinks and the like. Don't worry, most of the stories won't be from the books, I just found this a good starting point. Reviews most welcome.


	2. Escape Plan

Dead silence went through the cell. Even the group's heavy panting had stopped as what Parla had said sunk into our minds until I yelled as my shoulder was put back into place, snapping everyone out of the shock, spitting some of the nasty harpy blood out of my mouth that I only now realized just how foul it was.

"D-doomguards! He's bringing demons to the arena!" Onica cried in despair. We knew that she had been one of the hundreds who had fought in the last great battle at Hyjal, and had seen the demons first-hand. Bravery and impassiveness were no longer in the faces of the comrades I knew so well. These people had faced orcs, humans, elves, harpies, spiders, giant animals-even a giant thunder lizard once-and not once did they flinch, not once did they weep or cower. They took the fight to the enemy strong and hard. This, however, was something beyond all that. None of us feared the chance of death, for we were faced with it every day; the certainty of death is what drove the spear of fear into our hearts. Every time we fought, we had a chance to survive, just like in the last battles against terrible odds. But certain death was something we had not yet gone up against, and none of us wanted to try.

"We have only one chanccce to sssurvive." I said as the realization of what had to be done became clear. "We mussst come up with sssome kind of escape plan."

My cellmates stared at me with a second wave of disbelief, but some of them quickly realized that escaping would probably be their only option.

"How exactly are we supposed to escape?" Parla asked, doubt plainly visible in her eyes.

I shook my head. "I'm not sure. But at thisss time we mussst come up with a way to essscape."

"I agree!" Dak'tar pronounced, smacking his fist against his chest. "We've been slaves long enough! It's time we get back at these bastards."

"What we need is a lock pick and a distraction." Karadan spoke up. Everyone turned to the man who had originally discouraged any type of escape or attack against the guards when they had been brought up. "We will need to plan our escape carefully. For now, we can do nothing but wait. All of us are too banged up to try any kind of an effective escape. As for a lock pick, I'm sure that with all of the instruments we have available that we can turn some of the strings into one. Sari should have the capabilities to create one, and then Parla shouldn't have any problem getting through the lock."

Parla eyed Karadan with suspicion. "Too modest to mention yourself?"

"No, I just know for a fact you have more skills then I do in that particular area."

Tashi stood up, her eyes fearful. "It's crazy! If we try to escape, we will get caught, and put up against something we can't hope to beat!"

"And if we don't," Sari began, "We'll be killed by the demon anyway. I agree with Nas and Karadan. It's time ta break outta this joint somehow. What do you think, Kilrim?"

The orc did not respond, catching everyone's attention.

"Kilrim?" Sari asked as we turned to him.

He sat in his bed, staring at the stump that was once his hand, and I felt sorry for him. Fighting was a way of life for him, and now, with one of his hands gone, he could no longer use his favored weapons, nor fight with the same ability that he could in the past. He was extremely depressed, and I couldn't blame him: a being as proud as he was, having his hand cut off had been a serious blow. I couldn't help but be sympathetic to him. Losing his right hand must have been like when I had been banished, and had lost something very precious of my own.

"So what else are we gonna do?" Cenkic asked. "We're gonna need ta be able ta get past the guards."

"A distraction of some kind." Naith said.

That caught me my surprise. Normally not one to fight, it was odd to hear her trying to think of a way to escape. "Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do for now. We will have to wait for an opening. The demon will most likely cause a huge ruckus, more then enough to keep the guards busy. At least I hope so."

With nothing else to do, and wounds that desperately needed to be healed, we all lay down and tried to rest as night crept upon us. A familiar scent and a light tapping shot me awake as I turned toward the prison gate. It was Sana'taya.

"Are ya awake in der?" She spoke in a whisper.

"Yesss." I spoke in the same whisper. It helped being the closest to the door. I didn't want to wake the others. "Sssomething going on?" I asked as my eyes adjusted to the darkness and quickly made out her form.

"I brought some healin' potions for ya, mon. Also, I learned dat da demon is not far off. Only a day or so from arrivin'." She said in a barely-audible whisper.

I was silent for a moment before nodding. "I sssee. Thank you for thisss information." But she was not finished, and I could detect that she was here for more then just telling me about the demon. "What elssse ailsss you?"

She seemed to be unsure of herself before speaking again. "Listen Nas. I be knowin' of your plans ta try escapin' dis place."

My heart skipped three full beats. Any attempt of escaping or planned escape was certain death, and now someone knew of it. "You won't tell anyone if we do sssomething for you, correct?" I asked with an edge in my voice. All this time I thought she had been kind to us out of pity, but now it looked to be a means to an end.

She shook her head. "No Nas, I be not tellin' anyone regardless, but I be needin' your help if ya do escape. On da other side of da prisons gates down here's filled wit children born from da gladiators and guards."

A new shock went through my system. I had heard rumors that children were kept here, raised and bred to be warriors without the slightest knowledge of what love, play, music, or even kindness was like. I had dismissed the rumors, believing that Bloodstone couldn't be that cold. Anger began to burn through my blood. "Your own children are held asss well, correct?"

She nodded and I could smell the mix of salt water and sweat as a few tears rolled down her face. "I gave birth ta twins nearly ten years ago, and both of my girls are bein' trained as warriors. If ya escape, can ya please rescue dem?"

I nodded and looked at her. "We will sssave them. You have my word."

She gave a small bow and a similarly small smile, and I could see some hope in her eyes. "I be trustin' ya. Here are some potions for all of ya."

She slipped me the vials, and I took them quickly. "Thank you." I said as she stood outside our gate again, now a guard to make sure none of us tried to escape. I finally realized that she had just switched with the other guards, meaning it was just past midnight. "Oy, it'sss gonna be a rough day if I'm called early." I said as I fell to sleep.

I awoke a bit later then usual, but not late enough to enjoy the good books of history. I found the next book to be quite an intriguing story, titled _The Beginning of the Scourge: War of The Spiders_, how the Scourge began, and how the Nerubian, although an evil race, saw the true evils of the undead and fought against the Lich King, but they ultimately met defeat against the powerful lich. I wondered if the lich could be defeated, and if it was possible to have the Nerubians join with the other powers to stand against the undead. Ah, peace in the realm. That would be a truly wondrous thing, but that would be something that would not occur anytime soon. As the others were rudely awakened by the trolls once again for breakfast, I gave them the vials of healing potions which we promptly drank, and felt our wounds from the previous night disappear. I decided against telling them about the children cells that Sana'taya had told me about. We had enough to worry about, and we needed a good, solid plan getting out, and I believed that telling them about the cells would drive some of them to do something rash. I preferred that all of them remain alive. The spirits were with me, for another group was called instead of us, leaving me some time to relax before having to go and fight. I also began to wonder when Bloodstone would start missing the healing potions that Sana'taya constantly gave us. I began to fear for the troll who helped us, and once again I swore to uphold the debt we owed her to save her children. While I to rested, realizing I should have done this instead of reading, my cellmates talked with one another until they were finally all agreed upon escaping, and that it would be sometime soon when the right distraction came about. Until that time, all we could do was wait.

"Nas, Tashi, and Onica, you three be up for da battle." A guard pronounced, waking me up. Forcing myself out of the cot, I followed them to the armory where once again we would receive our weapons. I received six dwarves throwing hammers, and a flint stock pistol with a pouch of ammo, while Onica received a crossbow with ten bolts and six darts, and Tashi was given a short bow with ten arrows and six throwing daggers. The two girls were then called into the back room. When they came out, I couldn't help but stare. They had been given clothing that covered nothing that wasn't absolutely necessary. At seeing their beauty, I had to blush, even though they were of a different race. We were then lead outside to the arena, and I had to wonder what would occur in this match. When we arrived, I found that five humans and five orcs awaited us, all of them armed with spears and shields, and the arena itself had been changed into a type of obstacle course. Then that cursed fiend Bloodstone took his stand.

"Ladies and gentlemen. Before ya all, ya be seein' dat we be havin' two beautiful maidens wit a terrible monster who been brainwashed. Da men on da other side will be attemptin' ta kill da monster, and reach the beautiful maidens, who will give dem pleasure as payment for bein' rescued. Da monster will be tryin' ta keep da men away from his prize." The troll finished with a toothy grin as the crowd cheered.

It took every ounce of mental will power I had not to use the pistol to blast Bloodstones head off. The competition was for me to protect the two girls, or they would be raped! I would not allow this to happen, and I swore to myself that once we escaped, I would rip that troll's head off, no matter what it took. The bell echoed through the arena, and the men charged forward. I fired my first shot, but it struck against one of the men's shields. This would be tougher then I had thought it would be. I picked up a bullet from the pouch and fumbled as I tried to place it in the gun, trying to draw on what I had seen Cenkic do when he had used such weapons. I heard the crowd's jeers and laughs as they saw me having such a difficult time. Arrows and Bolts flew past as I tried to reload. Onica and Tashi were not about to let themselves be taken without one heck of a fight. As I reloaded the gun, I heard a yell of pain, and saw that a bolt was sticking out of one of the men's chest. I had to smile grimly as one of them was taken down. Aiming the pistol, I fired again. A human let out a terrible cry of pain as the bullet slammed into his unprotected leg area, shattering his knee bone, causing him to wither in agony. I moved my hand and once again began trying to load the gun with my large hands. The weapon's bullets were a bit small for me to use, so I had to carefully reload the gun or risk dropping the ammo, or breaking the ranged weapon. I heard another cry, and I saw that an arrow had sunk into another mans head. This was going to be easy at the rate we were going.

"I'm out of arrows!" Onica yelled out.

"I'm also out of ammo!" Tashi called from behind me, making me realize the situation we were in, and how bad it was.

I finally realized why they were given so little ammo. We had to use it wisely, or risk being overrun, and already the group was making there way towards us. Anger and annoyance filled me as I took both the pistol and the ammo and threw it behind me, taking out the dwarfs' war hammers as the first person charged me. I heard the crowd cheer as I threw the first dwarves war hammer into an orc's face, turning it into a bloody mass as he fell over, screaming in pain. I looked ahead and noticed one of the orcs over the man that I had shot, speaking too quietly to hear. Then the man jumped on his feet and was charging along side the orc.

"They have a bloody healer on their side! Aim for the orc over there with what ever you can!" I yelled.

A gun shot echoed through the arena as a bullet flew past me and into another orc, taking him out, though not the one I had pointed out. I turned, and found Tashi using the weapon with practiced skill; odd, for a wizard. It was then I realized that she had not been allowed to look at her spell book, so other then what few range weapons they had left, I was their only defense.

"Watch it Nas, they're swarming you!" She yelled.

Turning, I saw that the last of them had cleared the obstacle course and were now converging on me. "Thisss won't end well." I said as I readied myself. As the first person came at me, I grabbed his spear and pushed it aside, then moved in close and gave the human a good head butt, sending him sprawling to the ground. As pain rattled my skull, I promised myself that I wouldn't ever do something like that again, despite the effectiveness of the attack. As the world started to reform, I barely moved out of the way as the warriors tried to slam spears in my belly. I couldn't form a decent counter-attack because they continued to lunge at me, preventing me from striking back. Calling upon a spell that had been the first I had ever been able to use effectively, I let out a challenging roar, using the spell to amplify the sound. I could have chosen it to make any sound I desired, but increasing my own voice wouldn't seem too suspicious since no one had actually ever heard me when I didn't amplify it. The remaining warriors stopped in their tracks, momentary fear gripping them. As my bellow began to subside, I noticed something rather odd. Members of the audience were beginning to look not in, but outside the arena. My pause gave them the time they needed as the shaman tackled me to the ground. I found that he was a lot stronger then I thought as he tried to impale me, and as the two of us struggled, the others ran by me and toward the girls. My mind clicked as I realized what they were going to do.

"NOOOO!" I yelled, and with a surge of strength, I thrust the orc off of me with inhuman strength. As he flew backwards, I whirled around at the men and orc's who were nearly to the two girls, who's throwing daggers and darts were doing little to stop.

"Powers of the deeps, come to my aid! Nath ta'kar ratha!"

In front of the two girls, a giant reef elemental appeared before them, and they all stopped and stared and it's beastly might. It let out a gurgled battle cry as it charged forward. Not only were my enemies surprised, but so were what few audience members watching, and the two girls.

"STOP AT ONCE!" Bloodstone demanded.

I quickly called the reef elemental to stand down, and just in time as it moved a giant fist, ready to slam it into the orc closest to it. The elementals giant fists slowly fell to its side and disappeared as I called it back. The shaman and warriors were staring at me with fear, while the girls were looking at me with shock and disbelief, and Bloodstone was clearly ticked off. It was one of those rare moments where I just wanted to disappear from the spot. Guards came in and took away what weapons we had left, and all of us were led back into the cell so fast that the girls didn't even have time to change. They were met with sudden stares that I'm sure would have earned a few good smacks across the head.

"Wow…you took look nice…I mean well! No trouble I take it?" Karadan asked.

"Enough about that! How are ye all doin', and do ye know what's causin' all that racket above?"

Tashi gave me a betrayed look. "Nas'kara'nas has magical powers."

"That's nice but…wait, what!" Cenkic, and everyone else turned toward me as shouts and sounds of battle came from above. "Ye have magic!"

"Look, thisss isss not the time to talk about it. I kept it sssecret becaussse it'sss ssstill not up to full ssstrength."

"We be needin' help!" A troll voice yelled from above. "All guards get yer butts up here now!"

The trolls guarding our cages looked at one another for a few seconds, and then quickly ran off. I stared, realizing this was the first time we had ever been without guards. There hadn't been this much chaos since a juvenile dragon had escaped its cage.

"Thisss isss it! We can get out of here!" I said with enthusiasm. I could not contain myself as I went over to the door. "Isss everything ready! Pleassse tell me you've got everything ready!"

Sari and Parla looked at one another with guilty looks. "Eh, we didn't make the lock pick yet…" Parla said.

I looked at them with disbelief as anger welled within me. This was the perfect chance to escape and they weren't ready! "Sesh lakar nata!" I cursed and slammed my fist into the prison gate. Metal fragments shot everywhere as the lock on the prison exploded and the gate swung open so hard it jammed itself on the bars. Everyone just stared at me while I just looked at the open door, then at my fist, which was bleeding a purplish green color. It was then the pain that was the result of opening the door came to me in full. "OWW!" I yelled as pain shot through me.

"Nas, you did it!" Tashi said, and she jumped and hugged me with excitement. I must admit, it felt odd being offered any kind of generous gesture, especially after hiding my magical abilities. "You're still going to have to explain your magic." She said as she looked at me with a smile. I began to wonder if she could read minds, and I noticed Karadan giving me a hard look, almost as if he was jealous that Tashi was hugging me.

Cries from the other prisoners reached our ears as we exited from the cell, begging to me let out, and I didn't blame them.

"Now, what? How are we going to get out of here?" Parla asked as she looked around, worried that trolls would come back at any moment.

I called upon my memory from the time I had been here. The armory, the area where the children should be, the keys…my mind stopped at once as it got a fix on where I had seen the keys in the past, and in my mind came a wooden door that was always unlocked. I looked around the area at once, and spotted the door. "That's our exit!" I said, pointing to the door. We all moved toward it, and as we moved forward, Karadan stood in front of us.

"Hold up. Everyone, get to the sides of the door."

We stared at him. "Wha…" Tashi began.

"Just do it, trust me." He gave all of us a serious look, and we all moved at once. He rarely ever was serious about things, and to see him like that meant it was important. We all moved to the side, and opened the door slowly, and I could see the keys in plain view, as well as some clubs, and two pistols. Karadan looked from side to side, and then ducked as he brought his foot down on the ground in front of us. My eyes barley caught the movement of five small objects as they all flew by us and hit the wall.

Parla went over to the wall at once and picked up the five small objects. "Darts…giant scorpid poison on all of them. Just one of these could kill just about anyone if they're not careful." With that she placed them carefully in her pocket.

We then went into the room and armed ourselves as Karadan took the keys. At once we began unlocking the cages, and released the prisoners. "Alright, let's get out of here." Karadan said, and a wave of approvals followed him.

"Not yet." I said, and everyone turned to me. "There are three more groups that need to be released as well. I'm going to head over to the other cages and free the remaining prisoners." I said as I thought about the more experienced gladiators that were still most likely locked up

"Well, I'm sticking with you Nas!" Tashi said as she came up to me. "You're gonna need all the help you can get."

Cenkic and Dak'tar also walked up to me. "Yer not leavin' without us, Nas."

Karadan gave a sigh, and he walked up as well. "Looks like we are along for the ride then, Nas." The human said with a smile.

"Though we are enemies by race, I have come to see you as a friend." Onica said as she looked at me kindly.

"Thank you. Everyone else, head to the armory and get what weapons you can. We will meet you…"

The entire area suddenly rumbled as a thunderous sound slammed into the area above, causing pieces of the ceiling to fall loose. Both Onica and I stared with our mouths hanging open. "Tauren war stomps!" We both said at once as our sensitive ears picked up the source which was surprisingly far, then turned to everyone. "Get out of here at once! We will be back shortly!" We said again as one. We looked at each other, and just stared for a second as everyone began running upstairs.

"Let's go, you two!" Karadan said.

With that, we both turned and ran with those who had chosen to stay with us. We rounded the corner, and once again we all stopped in amazement. The stronger gladiators were standing over the troll guards who lay on the floor.

"Come on, let's blow this joint!" Most of them agreed, and ran passed us.

"Hey, none of you look like guards; get out of here before they come back!" Someone said. We turned to see a human who had not gone with the others. He eyed us, and looked at our weapons. "Do you have an extra weapon?"

"What for?" Tashi asked. "And who are you?"

"The name's Marcus, and there is another prison not far from here that has children in it, I need help getting them out!"

The others stared at him. "There are what!"

A second thunderous boom of the Tauren war stomps echoed through the area as more of the ceiling began to fall apart. "Damn! I wisssh thessse ruinsss weren't usssed asss a bassse!"

"Did you know about that as well Nas? The prisons I mean?" Tashi asked again with suspicion in her eye.

I sighed as I charged forward with Marcus. "You can murder me later for my lack of giving you knowledge!" I said, and although pieces of the ceiling were falling, I believe I made out a very exasperated yell from Tashi.

"Please! Let us out! We don't want to be here!" The young kids assaulted us with their pleas, and we began unlocking the cages as fast as we could, but it took time. Too much time. Using my strength, Tashi's and Onica's magic, and Karadan's lock pick, speed was greatly increased as Marcus unlocked the cells. A third wave of war stomps was heard as more of the ceiling began to collapse. I tore open the last cell holding Sana'taya's children. "Get to the ssstairsss asss fassst asss you can! I have one more thing to do!" I said as I took the keys.

Karadan stared at me. "You can't be serious! Another war stomp or two and you will be crushed!"

Onica joined in the protest. "As much as I dislike naga, you are different. Do not throw your life away Nas!"

I looked at them sympathetically. "The children need you right now. Go, I'll meet up with all of you later." I smiled, something that could scare young kids into running for their mothers. "I won't die. You have my word."

Understanding swept through the group as we went our separate ways. While they rescued the children, I would be free to save one other person. The area around me was collapsing from the war stomps, and I wasn't sure how much longer the old ruins would last under the pressure. At last I reached the menagerie, and I found that most of those in cages had already been killed or had escaped. All but one cage was open, and I recognized who it was that was still trapped within her cage. The harpy girl who I had battled against the other day was being tormented by three ragged gnolls who seemed desperate to get to her for a good meal. I realized they wanted something live, for when I entered, the girl screeched.

"Someone help me! Please!" She yelled as she cowered away from the gnolls.

"Ssstay away from her, vile creaturesss!" I yelled and gave a beastly challenge.

The three turned and licked their chops at seeing me. "Oooh, fish meat! Much good! Eat now!" The three charged.

My teeth found their way into the first's throat. It snapped, and the rest of his body fell to the ground. The blood was horrid tasting, a metallic like taste was in it, like a powerful drug. I quickly spit it out before it could affect me. The other two came at me with their claw attacks, but despite their desperation, their attacks did little against my natural scale armor. I counterattacked by slamming my claws into the chest of the second gnoll, and at seeing the bloody mess that sprayed from the dead creature, the last looked at me with fear, and I noticed that it's red eyes were beginning to change to a yellowish color. "W…wait! I…I'm no enemy. The trolls they…they drugged us with something, making us…me brainless and cannibalistic!"

I stared at him, and was about to say something when a piece of rubble hit my head.

"We'll talk later!" I said as I rushed past him and opened the door.

The harpy girl came out, fear still in her eyes. "I don't trust that gnoll, but if you let him live, I'm sure it is for good reason."

I pointed to the hallway. "Run now, talk later!" The two agreed and charged forward through the hallways. A final rumbling, and I could see that the wall would give in a few seconds. Turning, I concentrated on my magical abilities as my hands began to glow blue. "Nath ta'kar ratha!" Once again a giant reef elemental appeared before me, causing the two with me to stare in wonder. I pointed to the roof. "Hold asss long asss you can!" The reef seemed to nod, and stretched its body, putting pressure on the ceiling as best it could.

"Run!" I yelled as I turned, and we continued down the passage way. We rounded the last corner, and saw the entrance way to where the first set of prisoners had run up. A terrible crash was heard behind us as the entire place began to give way around us.

"Run, run, run, run!" I yelled as we charged forward. We dashed up the stairs as the tunnels below collapsed on us.

"That…was far...too close…for my liking…Eeesh!" The gnoll puffed out.

The young harpy girl collapsed on her knees as she, too, took deep breaths. "Let's not…do that again…"

"Agreed." I nodded as I leaned on the wall to catch my breath.

Author Note- Well, what do you all think? I would like to extend my gratitude to a girl named Britany, who was kind enough to be my editor. Yayness for her!


	3. Arenas End

Authors Note- Sorry it took so long getting this chapter out. My editor kinda spaced out a bit on me. ; But I won't hold it against her, she does really good work and all that. Well now, lets see how all of ya like this next chapter! Onwards my fellow Warcraft Fans!

We laid against the wall for a good half minute before I managed to force myself up.

"We need to catch up to the ressst of my friendsss. And I would like to know who you two are. I'm Nasss'kara'nasss." The two looked at one another and then me before speaking.

"I'm Tara. Tara Bloodwind," The harpy replied.

The gnoll gave a small bow. "Rak'natch Stonesnout."

"A pleasure. Come, we need to catch up to my friendsss." They nodded, and we set off down the familiar halls to look for my allies. As we ran through, we came across what looked like the aftermath of a fight, with five troll guards lying on the floor. All of them were dead, missing both weapons and armor.

"It looksss like they were busy," I said as I noted the damage on the trolls.

"The trolls weren't the only ones injured," Rak'natch said as he looked over the floor. He sniffed the area a few times, then turned to us. "Three different traces of blood, two human, and an elf of some kind, though I can't tell what."

"We had best hurry to them, then," I said, fearing for the safety of my comrades. Charging down the hall, we came across another opening.

"Which way now? I've never been in this area before," Tara said. I thought for a moment, searching the corridors of my own mind.

"That way leads to the armory, and the barracks as I recall," I motioned my hand to the left. "The other way leads outside of the arena itself." As I pointed right, a female troll was coming our way, a forest troll. Tara and Rak'natch readied themselves for combat, as did I, bearing are teeth and claws. It was then I noticed something familiar about her, and as she stepped into the light, I recognized her at once.

"Sssana'taya!" I exclaimed as I rushed forward toward her. She collapsed, but I quickly caught her. Quickly examining her, I discovered that she was badly wounded, but her regeneration abilities were already kicking in, as smaller cuts were already disappearing. "What happened to you?"

She looked up at me with worry in her eyes as blood trailed down her lips. "The…demons escaped…terrorizing the town…Bloodstone is trying to contain them, but…" She coughed again, a small about of blood coming out of her mouth.

"Easssy. You had bessst not die. You have yet to join your children in freedom.

The troll stared up at me, her eyes wide. "My children…are free!"

"Indeed, and well guarded by my friendsss. Come on," I said.

Sana'taya looked at me with a gleam in her eyes which was soon replaced with a look of defiance. "Screw this, I'm gonna live!" she said, attempting to stand. I smiled upon hearing this, and helped her up.

"Let'sss not keep them waiting." With that, our small group began going down the second passage, but Rak raised a paw for us to hold. He took several whiffs of the air, and turned to us.

"Company, lots of company." With that, both he and Tara stepped up, ready to fight. From the end of the passage ahead, multiple humanoids came from the corner, well-armed with basic weapons often seen in the arena.

"Nas! Damn well took you long enough! We were worried!" Tashi yelled at me. I could only manage to sigh in relief. I would never understand her, and I doubted that Karadan would understand her any better, and he liked her!

"Looks like you made some new friends during our absence," Onica said as she eyed Tara and Rak.

"Friends of yours?" Tara asked.

"Nitata, Sanoa, you are safe!" Sana'taya cried in joy as she ran to hug her twin daughters.

A quick introduction was made between my friends, and two young girls were reunited with their mother. The sight was unforgettable: For the first time, I was witnessing what it was like for a parent to show care and love for their children. I noticed that Marcus and the other children were missing. I was quickly informed that the others had taken up residence in the former barracks that had housed the trolls under Bloodstone's command, and would wait there until it was safe to move again.

"Oh, thank you," Sana'taya said as she hugged her daughters. "Listen, your primary weapons and the gear that was taken from you is on the floor above you. I can lead you there."

That caught everyone's attention, and we all quickly agreed to follow, more then willing to get our equipment back.

"Hey, Nas, you might want this," Dak'tar said, throwing me a trident.

I looked at the weapon, then looked at him with a smile.

"Thanksss."

Rak was given a two handed war hammer, while Tara took a staff.

We began walking again, coming to another flight of stairs, and as we descended, Rak help up his paw.

"There are trolls, many of them. Best ready ourselves for a fight." Cenkic, Dak'tar, Karadan, and I moved to the front, gripping our weapons, with Rak leading. The gnoll peeked over the corner, then looked back at us, and held up five fingers, then repeated the motion. Ten trolls were guarding the upstairs area, and I was glad that Rak was with us, otherwise we would have blundered right into the group. I turned, and quietly gave the numbers that we were dealing with.

Tara then walked up to me, and held a claw to her lips as she looked at my arm. She began touching it, and the sensation felt very strange as I could not understand just what she was doing. She had a very concentrated look about her as she continued to trace her claws carefully around my scales, and as she did, I could feel a new sensation go through my body. It was like my body became tougher, like I could take a few more hits, and I noticed a mark appearing on my shoulder. I looked at her with momentary surprise as I realized what she was.

"Runemassster…" I whispered, and she nodded.

I had heard of them, but had seen very few in my time. The used a rudimentary type of the arcane powers in the forms of arcane marks placed on the skin, like tattoos that gave out power. She, like me, had kept her abilities secret. She then backed away as I turned to the others, and we nodded.

The four of us dashed up the remaining stairs and turned the corner to meet two surprised trolls. They had enough time to make grunts of pain as we came upon them, brining them down in the surprise attack. The other eight, stunned by surprise at first, charged at us with clubs and staves drawn. Bloodstone liked his prisoners alive, thus ordered all his guards to carry items that would incapacitate, rather than kill the target.

Without warning, two of the trolls suddenly fell over, and I smiled as I sensed the powers of the arcane. Tashi was getting quite good with those spells of hers, and I was glad that she had kept that sleep spell that had been meant for the arena.

Already with the odds better in our favor, we charged forward, ready and willing to meet the trolls in armed combat. I brought my trident up, deflecting the attacks from two trolls trying to get the better of me. No longer trying to hide my magical abilities, I pushed them back and I called forth the power of the arcane. A familiar feeling washed through my body as the power of ice flowed through me; it reminded me of my home from the depths. I then released the spell Frost Nova upon my targets, hitting them with a chilling, icy blast. The jungle troll that took the brunt of the attack looked like he was in pain, surprise on his face as he fell on the ground, his heart no longer beating from the sheer cold.

The second stumbled back, trying to recover from the backlash of the blast. I did not give him the chance to recover as I thrust my trident into his exposed neck. I fell right into his planned trap as he deflected the trident and brought the club hard onto my head with a force that could easily have crushed a human skull. I was dazed for a second, and then I curled my free hand into a fist and slammed it into his gullet. As he coughed from pain and surprise at my quick recovery, I skewered him with my trident. I thanked Tara for the rune she had placed on me, which had given me the strength to stay conscious from the attack. I turned to find that the others had already dealt with the remaining trolls, while Tashi bound the two that were still sleeping so they wouldn't cause any trouble for awhile.

"It be this way," Sana pointed, picking up a key off one of the guards. She then opened a door not far from our position, and our mouths dropped. Exotic weapons, magical armor, rare artifacts, spell books… All of this and more filled the area in nice, neat stacks. It was a treasure hunter's paradise. As the others began picking out equipment and items they wished for, I only looked for one thing. I scanned the various weapons, not finding what I sought, and I began to despair. Just when I had given up all hope, I found it. As if placed on a pedestal, my weapon lay before me: My _Trident of the Deeps_. Slowly I moved forward and reached for the weapon. As I gripped the weapon, the familiar aura of the ocean deeps filled me. It was almost like I was home again. I lifted the giant trident and looked the weapon over. Its golden shine had not faded, and the azure jewels were still embedded in the weapon. I smiled at reacquiring the only relic I had left to remember my life by. It was my most precious possession, and it had been quite a hassle when it was taken from me when I had been first captured. I also picked up the number of books I had with me at that time. Most of them were on history, but one was slightly different. Picking it up, I cast another spell, and the concealment spell disappeared. The text changed to that of my own language, and I smiled as the arcane runes shined brightly. Over the last month, I had been trying my best to conserve my spells and keep them stored as best I could. I had only used a total of three spells during our capture.

After examining my weapon, and being satisfied, I began looking, and quickly found my armor and gear. Only the gold was missing, which caused more distress to some than others. I really didn't care; having had only a few pieces myself, it was no big loss. As I shifted through the other items, I decided, like the others, to take a few extra things along for the journey ahead: two scimitars, and a strange shield that caught my eye. Something about it was oddly familiar, but I couldn't place it.

Adjusting my equipment, I turned to the others, and for a second I was surprised at the change in them. Cenkic and Dak'tar were both wearing chain mail armor, Cenkic armed with a blunderbuss, two pistols, and two war hammers, while Dak'tar had a giant two-headed ax with a long bow strapped to his back. Tashi and Onica stood in robes, Tashi in purple and gold stripes, while Onica wore a white robe with the symbols of her goddess. Karadan whirled two short swords in his hand while placing a number of throwing daggers all around him, wearing leather armor for protection. Rak'natch wore hide armor and wielded two nasty looking morning stars with a shield on his back, along with a crossbow, while Sana'taya picked up a long spear, and a number of throwing axes. The only one who wasn't changed much was Tara, who only donned a little bit more then the basic clothing, though she did place a few rings on her claws.

"Mother, there's a room up ahead that's open, and I can hear fighting!" We looked at Nitata, then to where she pointed. Rak took a quick sniff and gave a low growl.

"Recognize that scent. Bloodstone spends a bit of time there," He said as we got close to the room. The sounds of battle could be heard outside, and we went toward the large windows. I felt my blood turn to near ice. In the course of our escape, I had forgotten about the demon that was outside. A giant Doomguard was laying waste to all it could reach. I saw the bodies of fel guards and fel hounds, as well as troll, orc, tauren, goblin and more lying about the field. Two tauren charged toward the standing Doomguard, but before they reached it, arrows from all directions slammed into them, bringing them down. Bloodstone was out there, and it seemed like he was actually trying to protect the demon!

"We mussst get down there fassst!" I cried.

"Look at this…" Sana'taya whispered, a sound of disbelief in her voice. Turning, I saw her looking at a piece of paper.

"What's it say?" Karadan asked.

"'Madam …, this humble servant of yours brings his greetings to you. I would like to offer an idea that could bring more profit to the arena. As you have so generously pointed out, the current funds being generated from the Arena's pitiful creatures are significantly less then equitable. I suggest a new idea that should bring more profit than ever before. I have made contact with the Dreadlord Necros, and he agreed that if I gave him ten sorcerers, he would release a Doomguard to me, and after giving him a few magical items, he also released a number of fel guards and fel hounds to my service. If this proves to rile the crowd's interests, then I suggest that we attempt to make the Arena demons-only, once the rest of the pitiful warriors are slaughtered and-'" She looked up to us. "That's all. The arrival of the demons must have interrupted him."

The rest of us were completely silent, trying to absorb what was said. We had thought Bloodstone had been trying to capture the demons at random, not making deals.

Dak'tar broke the silence first. "Bloodstone has gone too far! No one can consort with demons and live so long as I'm around!"

The general feeling was mutual as I gripped my weapon. "Today, Bloodssstone mussst fall." I turned to Sana'taya. "I can't ask you to be a part of this fight, nor will I. Stay here and protect your children, while we deal with this evil once and for all." She nodded, and I turned to the others. "We will be up againssst sssome pretty bad oddsss. If any of you want to ssstay behind, I'll underssstand."

They all stared for a second, and Cenkic spoke first. "Nas, you must be getting daft if ye think we're abandoning you."

"We will fight them together and with honor!" Dak'tar said as he pounded his chest.

"You aren't getting rid of us that easily."

"Face it lad, we're coming with ye."

"Well then, let'sss go."

We made our way down from the arena and into the town area, somewhere we hadn't seen in over a month. All around the bodies of guards, citizens, escaped gladiators and more littered the streets as the demon continued its rampage. Multiple trolls were attacking it with clubs, staves, and other weapons trying to bring it down without killing the creature, having little affect on its bulky armor. In retribution, the creature brought its sword through them, killing three trolls in one swing.

"We've got to kill it before it causesss anymore damage!"

"I've been wonderin' how long it'd take ya to get out here, naga."

I turned, and found Bloodstone approaching with several guards close behind him. "You cost me some very valuable fights with that magic of yours. You kept it secret, giving you an advantage that shouldn't have been there. Worse, you released all of _my _slaves, _my _creatures, killed _my _guards, and now you want to kill _my _demon! You will be the one who…uuug!" He didn't finish before a magical energy blast slammed into him, coming from Tashi.

"Leave this bloke to us," She said as she whirled her staff.

Karadan walked beside her, holding his two short swords, ready for a fight. "Hopefully we won't be kept out of the fun with the demon for too long."

Rak twirled his morning stars in his hands. "I've got a bone to pick with them."

"Same here." I saw Tara glowing in Runes

"Don't worry lad, the rest of us are with ya," Cenkic said as he cocked the Blunderbuss. Dak'tar whirled his double-headed ax and gave a toothy grin.

Onica also stepped up to me. "I have not been kind to you in the past, Nas. Let me see if I can make up for how I acted. I will help you."

A scream caught my attention before I could fully appreciate their sentiments. Parla was l against a building, holding a long sword with both hands trying to block an attack from the Doomguard. Naith was beside her, though unconscious. The Doomguard batted away the sword, and lifted his blade to slice the goblin in two. Whipping my hand up, I fired a small ice ray at the demon, striking him in the ear, and most likely numbing it with frost. It wasn't nearly as powerful as the frost nova spell I had used earlier, but it caught the demon's attention as it whirled toward me. At the same moment, a loud sound like thunder exploded from behind me, and the sound of metal ricocheting off of armor was heard as the demon stumbled slightly from the shot. Then holy energy slammed into the creature, causing it to wince in pain at first…which served to really tick it off. It charged forward, fire burning in its eyes as the demon let out a challenging roar. It was at this moment I wished I had saved my Frost Nova spell, instead of wasting it on the elite guards, but it was too late. I felt the tinges of fear beginning to grip me as the creature charged, but then I felt a force enter me that transformed my fear into courage. I felt the blessing of Elune upon me from Onica. Instead I lifted my trident as Dak'tar leapt to my side. With our combined strength, we repelled the attack, just able to hold our ground. The two of us pushed forward, forcing the creature back and we began our own attack. I shoved my trident into its side while the half orc attacked from the front. My weapon managed to pierce its armor, and I realized as my weapon sank into its flesh that the creature was already banged up from the valiant defenders, the gladiators, and Bloodstones guards. As I pulled out my weapon, the Doomguard swung its own weapon, trying to get me with a swipe while my weapon was still inside of him. Pulling hard, I jumped back, just dodging the blade. Dak'tar wasn't so lucky, brining up his ax just in time to avoid a killing blow. He flew across the field, and slammed into a small house, crashing through the wooden walls. Another shot fired from Cenkic's Blunderbuss at pointblank range, shattering some of the demons chest armor, and then another blast of light slammed into the creature. It couldn't take much more punishment. Suddenly the creature charged us. I brought up by trident, and it sunk into its chest, but didn't even slow the creature down as it slammed its arm into Cenkic, taking the wind out of him as he was knocked to the ground. The blade the Doomguard held grazed my arm, but it felt like a deep wound, and I cried out as I was pushed aside, weapon still in hand as I fell. I got up in time to see the demon ready to cleave Onica in two.

"Gall'mak!" I yelled as I pointed my trident at the demon. A giant wave blasted from the trident, sending the creature into the air. Quickly I called upon my wind spell again, only cranked it up to its full potency. "Zaj'ra Naka!" A powerful wind blast shot forward from my hand, hitting the already airborne Doomguard, further increasing the creature's speed right into the arenas walls. I was quite amazed when he went through them. I heard a loud thump, then a roar from a creature which I quickly recognized. The captured thunder lizard sounded unhappy from having something slam into it, and I saw a burst of lighting come out of the arena, followed by several loud booming noises, and I guessed that the lizard was tramping the offensive creature. Not even a demon could survive all of that. The threat was over.

"Nas, behind you!" Onica yelled.

I whirled, bringing up my trident in time to block two giant axes slammed into it. Bloodstone's eyes glowed red, and I realized that's how he got his name. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the others hard pressed by eight trolls.

"Damn you! I'll kill you!" He yelled as he slammed his axes against my weapon again and again, trying to get past my defenses.

"No, you will die for all of thossse that you've made ssssuffer!" I yelled back as I began my counter attack, swinging my trident at him, only to find that his defenses were just as strong.

"Who cares if a few people suffer, you cost me a large amount of gold! Not only that, but you have destroyed the arena all together! I will make you pay for what you've done!"

The pain in my arm was still fresh, and it was becoming harder and harder to block his attacks. He quickly realized I was wounded, and concentrated his attacks on that area. Finally the pain was too much, and brining both of his axes down, my trident went flying out of my hands.

"Now you die!" He said as he brought up his axes for the final blow. He swung down, and found I was just out of his reach, with my hand facing him.

"Ishta'nob!" I spoke, but not before he lunged at me. His axes dug deep into my chest, but I was able to hold my concentration as I cast the last spell I had left. A powerful lightning bolt fired from my hand, slamming into his chest and sending him flying into the air, electricity covering his body. He slammed into the ground hard, skidding a few meters before coming to a stop. His breathing was haggard, his body charred. Pulling out the axes imbedded into my body, I moved toward him slowly as blood oozed down my body. He looked up at me with defiance as he spoke.

"Damn you…Nas'kara'nas. May you suffer…a thousand fold…what I-" I didn't give him time to finish as I slammed the axes into his body. I didn't want to give him time to recover, as trolls were well known for being able to recover fast from wounds. With the demon and Bloodstone now dead, the last of my arcane magic finally exhausted, and my own wounds finally getting to me, I felt the world around me begining to twirl. The last thing I saw was Onica running towards me before I finally slipped unconscious on the ground.

Authors Note 2- I certinly hoped you have enjoyed it. If not, then that may mean I'm not doing as good as a job keeping you folk entertained! Xx; I'll just have to hope for the best. Until the next chapter.


	4. Plan of Action

Author note- By the holy light and the spirits that guide us I apologize insanly for taking so long in getting this up. Personal problems and life have plauged me and my editor with so many problems that this was unfortanatly taken away from our concerns, but never fear! This story will push on, and will continue to build, hopefully with a bit more speed like the other chapters. Sorry to keep you all waiting. I hope you enjoy the story!

The first thing I noticed…well, two things actually, was that I was laying on something very soft and comfortable, and that there was the sound of voices all around me. Letting out a small grunt, my eyes opened. I had to blink a few times as I adjusted to the light that was upon me. My vision came into focus, and I found Onica sitting next to me, and a smile grew on her face when she saw I was awake.

"Good morning Nas. Glad to see you are awake at last." She said with a cool voice that seemed different from other times she had ever talked to me.

"Good ta see ye among the livin', lad." Cenkic said as he lit his pipe, taking a quick puff before blowing it out the window. "Ye gave us a bit of a scare there when ye collapsed."

"Ha! It would take more then that to take him down for good! The others will be pleased to see you awake." Dak'tars familiar enthusiasm brought a smile to my face.

Doing a mental check of my body, I found that I was free of wounds, though a few minor muscle aches could be felt. I ignored them as I pushed myself up slowly.

"Your healing spells are quite a wonderful thing." I looked at Onica with a caring smile. "I'll have to learn a bit from you."

She helped steady me as I forced myself out of the bed. "We all have a bit to learn. I'm just glad I got to you in time."

I nodded in agreement as I stretched my body in ways that could make even the most athletic human jealous. After finishing, I looked at my friends and noticed how different they looked. They must have bathed recently, for all the grime and dirt we had gained in the past week was gone. Cenkic had two large braids in his beard, and one for the back of his long flowing red hair, tying it in a ponytail to keep it under control. His skin was brighter then it had been before, with perhaps a hint of tan, and his purple eyes met mine warmly. Dak'tar looked about the same, with wild black hair and the stubs of a beard on his green/tan skin, a showing of his human heritage, along with simple brown eyes that followed a toothy grin, causing me to smile as well. Onica looked the most changed, the silver of her hair matching that of her glowing eyes. Unlike most of her kind, she had no symbols by her eyes. Her skin was also a lot darker then I thought it would be, with a deep shade of purple to it.

"Now that I'm awake, perhapsss I can hear what happened?"

"Just like ya ta ask about what's happened after ye got thrashed. We'll tell ya in good time, but come and join us for some good breakfast." He took another puff of the pipe, and then he sniffed the air. "Smells like it just finished."

I took a quick sniff myself, and I quickly identified a various amount of cooking scents, and my stomach growled. I gave them a guilty look as I rubbed my rumbling belly. "Guess I should get some food in here. No good getting up only to collapse of hunger."

They chuckled a bit and nodded as we exited the room and they led me down some stairs into a large dining room where a giant breakfast was set out. As we entered, Rak was the first to notice, and announced our arrival. I was greeted by all of my friends and companions, all of them assaulting me with questions about how I was doing and the like. It was only through the combined effort of Onica, Cenkic and Dak'tar that saved me from being overwhelmed. As everyone else sat down for breakfast whilst I curled my tail to lower myself to their eye level, I was given an overview of what had happened. After the demon's and Bloodstone's deaths, what few trolls were left had surrendered to the escaping gladiators. The towns' people, some thankful for having some of the prisoners released, others thankful for us killing the demon, and the rest fearing that we would feel ill will toward them, had turned their facilities over to us while we plan our next action. Most of the survivors were the children that had hidden in the main compound during the demon attack. Most of the gladiators, even some that I had known, had been killed. Parla, Naith, Sana'taya, Marcus, and the children were the only remaining survivors besides my own group that I knew. Others had made it out though, most notably a Mok'nathal Beastmaster, who had used her powers to calm the Thunder Lizard after it had escaped from the arena. Although she was able to prevent it from causing any more harm, she couldn't control the beast, and it crashed through the jungle. No one dared go after a thunder lizard, especially a large one that was angry. All in all, there were nearly fifty people left from the arena, most of them children.

As we ate, I noticed how the others had changed as well. Tashi's short red hair hung to her shoulders, neatly combed, and her young blue eyes continued to watch me with slight suspicion of questions that she wished to ask, but couldn't, as well as just being happy to see me. Karadan's black hair was also somewhat short, and his green eyes continued to eye everyone around, and he continued stretching his well-built body. Tara was true to her Bloodfeather name, with all of her feathers a bright red which I considered to be quite exotic. Her young face continued to look around the table with a bit of shyness, still not have gotten use to being around so many that she did not know well. I noticed her eyes were the same as her feathers in color. Rak snarfed down his food with few table matters, and I guessed that he had not been taught any, something that would have to be changed. His fur stood out as a dark grey, a somewhat rare color among gnoll kind as I remembered from my past few years on the mainland. He was also much shorter then most gnolls, only standing a mere five feet and perhaps three to five inches tall, unlike his kin who stood well over seven feet tall.

As I noticed these little details of my companions for the first time, we all discussed what we could do, but nothing good came to mind. The main problem was that we were in Stranglethorn, one of the most dangerous jungles in all of Azeroth. Getting out of it would be extremely difficult between the various jungle troll tribes, vicious plants, and wild beasts that roamed the place. It didn't help much that we were near the southern tip of it, putting us months away from any hope of exit from the place.

"The only way we can get out of here fast and without many casualties is either by air or by sea, neither which we have."

"Actually, there is a way." The mok'nathal woman said.

All eyes turned to her, eager to hear of a way we could get out.

"Take note, the only reason I'm about to tell you this is because you saved so many lives. I expect all of you to keep the information I'm about to give a secret." Everyone at the table looked at each other with baffled looks before nodding. She then nodded her own head. "About a week's walk from here, buried in the jungle near the coast, is the Horde base of Grom'gol. The goblins have also made a small outpost inside, where they bring their Zeppelins in, some from as far as Stormwind. Also constructed there is a ship yard, so you also may find passage to the other continent where the largest concentration of the horde lay. Between them, you may be able to get the children to safely. This next place is no secret. Three days from here lies the goblin town of Booty Bay, filled with pirates and the like. Although closer, and more ready to have the supplies you need, it would be more risky to travel there."

Murmuring took the table, though I only looked at the Mok'nathal woman. "What isss your name?"

"I am Thana Eagleclaw. I already know you, Nas'kara'nas, from your reputation."

I gave a small bow, and then took a good bite from some cooked fish. As I swallowed the rest of it, I decided what had to be done. "Well then…" I began, loud enough for everyone at the table to quiet. "First thing we will do is to supply ourselves and pay our respects to those comrades who fell to Bloodstone and the demon. Then we will begin the long march to Stonard. With a little bit of luck we will find all we need there, including a transport out of here. Is everyone who is not staying in this city agreed to that?" A wave of nods came back from the survivors, and I nodded myself. "Alright then, let's get started."

We began at once collecting various supplies that would be needed for the trip, as well as collecting the books found in Bloodstones office that would be transported to the major cities of the horde and the alliance so they could know of the people who were lost. Weapons and equipment were taken from the arenas base, but only a few of them were kept by us. The rest was spread through the town as seen fit. We helped with the burial of those who had been killed, and with Onica and Taith, proper respects were given with the blessing of the Goddess Elune and the spirits of the world. We rested for another day before we gathered our belongings and were ready to set off. The citizens seemed almost glad to be rid of us, though I couldn't figure out why.

As we made our way through the jungle, I looked at our group, and shook my head. Twenty three children, ranging from six to fifteen, traveled with our hardened group of warriors. All remaining survivors now traveled together in the hopes of reaching the safety of the orc base, but I realized something. We were mostly made up of alliance and other races that generally did not associate with the horde on a good level. Things could go bad very quickly at the village. Worse was that we still had to get there past a jungle filled with vicious animals and carnivorous plants. Thana lead with Rak close by, constantly sniffing for anything out of the ordinary that could possibly mean danger. I stood on the left front, with Sana'taya behind me. We all stood guard, leaving the young children in the middle, all of us ready to put our lives down to keep them alive through the jungles horrors. For the next few days, we encountered nothing dangerous at all, nothing that threatened our lives. By the forth night, we came across a river, and caught a nice number of fish. We decided to relax a bit, and enjoying a nice meal of freshly cooked fish around a few fires spread out in our own groups. As we ate, Tashi eyed me with suspicion. She took a large bite of her fish, swallowed it, and stared at me. "Nas, why don't you tell us the story of your magic, and why you never told us about it."

Everyone turned their heads toward me, and I sighed. "Very well, I suppose now is as good a time as any to tell all of you a bit of my past."

All of them silenced as I took another bite of fish, and took a deep breath.

"Let me start by introducing myself to you fully. My name is Naskar Venomblade, former sorcerer, and royal guard of the nagaess General Selna . I will not bore you with details for now, but at one point I was considered one of the top sorcerers within the naga army, and a decent warrior, something odd for a male of my species, who if you do not know, are extremely rare to show any hints of magic due to our severally weakened intellect compared to the naga females, who dominate our society. My powers gained me a certain standing above most males within my society, but unlike many of my kind, I had a sense of honor and compassion that is lacking within our kind. It proved to be the downfall of my position. When Illadin called upon the naga nearly four years ago, I helped serve to attack the night elves, but I questioned the attacks, and our brutality. I began taking prisoners, treating them well, and slowly helping them to escape. But it was an assault against a small group of humans that brought my downfall.

We were attacking a fishing boat, which was only a cover for a large number of wizards and sorcerers traveling to Theramore. It was a combined attack between our magic casters and warriors, lead by Lady Darkscale, my commander. We used our magic to conjure a terrible storm while our warriors and remaining mages attacked the boat, where they encountered heavy resistance from human and elven sorcerers. During the attack, a young girl fell off the boat. She was the very first child I had ever seen. I could not bring myself to slaughter such an innocent looking being, and I finally realized the evil that my race represented. I charged forward and grabbed her before she could fall unconscious, and swimming with all my might, reached the shore where the survivors were gathering, and placed her among them, and before they could react, I reentered the ocean. Then, in my true act of defiance, I used my power to strike at our own sorceresses and wizards, clearing the storm, and allowing the remaining crew to escape. Because of my act, thirty three naga were killed.

I was brought to Azshara for my actions, and Lady Darkscale decided as punishment to absorb all of the arcane energy that I had acquired over the years into herself. She brings such punishments on those of casters because it makes her more powerful, and kills the one she drains. I was amazed that I survived, though no one realized that when my body was tossed into the grave yard for the many sea creatures to feast on. However, I did not die.

Just barley alive, I held on to my life, though I knew there was no hope that I would survivie. I am only here today because my younger sister, Zal'kana, risking her own life, came and healed me and gave me supplies, including my weapon." I looked over to the weapon and gave a sigh.

"That was nearly three years ago when that occurred. Making my way to the surface world, I found myself lost among the wonders and dangers it had to offer. I wandered, surviving off of what I could, before coming upon, quite by accident, a human village. Tired, worn-out, and still suffering from the loss of my magic, I was easy prey to the villagers, who were more then eager to kill a naga after suffering attacks from my kin. Again, I would have met my death there, if not for a young girl, the very same one who I had saved, came to my rescue. I didn't believe that they would listen to her, but surprisingly, they did. I was dumbfounded, unable to understand why they listened to a young child like her…until she revealed her true form. It had not been a human girl I had saved but…"

A scream suddenly ripped me out of my memory, causing all of us to grab our weapons and shoot up.

"Trolls! Trolls are attacking!" Someone yelled. As soon as that had been shouted, dozens of jungle trolls exploded from the woods. Holding up my trident, I called upon the powers of the ocean once again.

"Nath ta'kar ratha!" In front of me appeared the giant elemental of the deeps, ready to serve.

"Destroy the invading trolls!" I yelled, and at once it blasted three of the trolls moving in to surround us. I gave a curse, wondering where they had come from, and how so many had snuck upon us. I didn't think about it much as a bright light flashed through the area, making it as light as day, causing the trolls I was ready to face and myself momentarily blind. Then, as I reoriented myself, I could see the trolls clear as day, some trying to get their bearings.

I didn't give them time to recover as I aimed my trident, and smiled at the large number of them. "Gall'mak!"

The giant wave once again fired from my weapon and slammed into the large number of trolls, sending them crashing through the jungle. I barley had time to recover as more trolls pored in around us. I cursed, wondering how all of these trolls could have snuck up upon us. It seemed impossible, but it was happening. Calling upon the powers of the arcane, I released a frost bolt into another approaching group, and then fired a wave of magical missiles, taking down several trolls, only for more to appear, like cutting the heads of a hydra. I concentrated on another spell as a troll charged forward and swung his battle ax at me, which I did not raise a finger to defend against. The ax stopped short of my scales. He was so surprised that he didn't even raise his defenses when I sent my trident through him. I smiled, knowing that my mage armor spell was working. I whirled my trident, taking another two enemy trolls down in one stroke. I stabbed another troll, then heard a sound behind me. I turned quickly, and found a troll falling to the ground, an orc armed with two claw weapons stood before me. I nearly jumped, realizing that this was the same orc I had battled against before the demons had arrived at the Arena.

"This time, we fight as comrades, not enemies. Are you with me?"

I nodded. "Better believe it."

Back to back, we turned to face our enemies. Bringing my trident about, I took down another two trolls, and deflected a third attack, holding the enemy at a stalemate.

"Onica, fire another light spell!" I yelled. Nothing happened as the area became darker.

"Onica?" I smashed the trolls I fought, and I dared to look where the others had been, and felt a cold terror shoot through me as I saw no sign on any of my comrades.

"Onica! Tashi! Karadan! Where are you! Answer!" In response, I heard a yell above the screaming battle cry of the trolls. I whirled around and found the shaman being dragged into the forest inside a net.

"Arcana Sekal!" From my hands, another wave of arcane missiles shot from my hand, ripping apart the net before it could disappear in the darkness.

"Look out!" He yelled, and I whirled with another spell already in mind as I saw a net flying toward me.

"Zaj'ra Naka!" I yelled, firing a wind blast, sending it back to the ones who had thrown it, and as it crashed into the jungle I could hear the angry yells of trolls. This was a minor victory, for I still had no idea where my friends were, though now I had an idea of how they had been taken. Even my elemental had been defeated. My concentration on the net had allowed eight of the trolls to regroup, and they charged toward me, ready to take me down. Suddenly roots exploded all around me, grappling the trolls and forcing them to the ground. I was startled, and then found the orc shaman next to me seconds later.

"This is no good." He said. "We must retreat for now, or we will be captured as well!"

"No! We mussst fight our way through and save the others!"

The orc shook his head. "We can save them another time, but we won't be able if they capture all of us. They are going through great pains to capture us alive; we must use this to our advantage!" He pointed down the river. "We must flee now, before we are completely overwhelmed."

I gave a roar and threw a fire ball into the group of immobile trolls, incinerating half of them before turning back to the shaman. "Alright, let's go!"

Nodding, the two of us began to flee down the river. We had barely made progress as the sound of pursuit was heard behind us.

"Now what?" I began. "The jungle isssn't the bessst placcce to run blind!"

The shaman yelled at me back. "I'm still working on it! I'll think of…"

He stopped so suddenly that I nearly slammed into him. "What now! We have to keep moving or…" I looked where he was and saw that it was a straight shot down. We had come to a waterfall, though I hadn't noticed the noise due to the trolls chasing us.

"Thisss could be put a damper in our plansss…have a plan B?"

He looked below the raging water fall, and I guessed that, like me, he couldn't see the bottom. "Hmm, this could definitely be a problem…I have one idea but it's awfully risky…"

I shook my head. "I'm all ears at this point."

He nodded. "We need to…"

Trolls burst from the bushes, causing us to whirl around, and we discovered that we were completely surrounded.

"Der be no where left ta run mon." The lead troll said as he lifted his double bladed ax. "Make it easy on yourselves and surrender. Der be no way out now."

The two of us looked at each other, and as our eyes met, we had a silent agreement on what had to be done. Turning around, we both leapt off the edge, and plunged into the dark abyss below.


	5. New Allies

Author note- No I'm not dead...at least not yet. I've been having a lot of RL issues that have kept me away from story writing. Between loosing my main editor, and my computer getting totaled, I couldn't get workin on any of my stories on account of loosing all the ones I had begun. Also between my new job I don't have nearly as much time as I use to to work on my stories, but now with a new computer I can begin working on them once more. Heres to the opes that you like them.

P.S. I'm in need of an editor if anyone wouldn't mind helping me out. ;

The winds screamed around us as we plunged through the thick darkness that surrounded us and the jungle. "We are far enough! Now!" The shaman called out.

I nodded, and we both began uttering spells, each speaking our own tongue. The scenery began to slow around us as an unseen force pushed against our bodies, slowing our decent. Finally he were moving at a snails pace as we came closer to the ground. The force disappeared, and we hit the ground with a light thud.

I looked back up to the water fall, which was crashing on the ground near us. "I…I wonder how the others are?"

The orc shaman came up next to me and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry. The spirits will watch over them."

I nodded. "Right…" I said, though with very little enthusiasm as I looked around at the darkness that surrounded us.

A low grow came from the jungle, causing both of us to bring up our weapons in a defensive stance. A large panther slowly came out of the jungle, teeth bared, and claws extended. Its coat was sheet black, with claws the size of dagger blades, and yellow eyes that seem to pierce right through me.

"Stay calm…" The shaman began. "We best not do anything sudden…"

"Aye, or my panther will rip one of you to shreds, while I blast the other." A voice called out from the jungle. "Now, neither of you move while I get a good look at ya."

From the bushes a large orc came out, from what I could tell wearing leather armor that looked custom built, wearing two small swords on his side, and pointing a large gun at both of us. He flipped a little switch, shooting a beam of light at us. I flinched, thinking he had fired, but found that I was in no harm. The light was attached to his gun, to allow him to see better in the night. He brought the light from the shaman to me, then lowered a gun.

"A fellow orc and a naga traveling together? Well, isn't this world just full of surprises? Settle down, Quickclaw, they aren't the ones we hunt." The panther relaxed so suddenly that I was left in awe at how easy this orc commanded the creature. The orc beckoned to them. "Come to my camp. I bet you have an interesting story to tell."

We followed the orc back to his camp where two tauren sat around a camp fire. One had black fur similar to my own black scales, with two small but sharp looking horns. He wore metallic armor, chain from the looks of it, and held a large battle ax and an even larger shield. The other had brown fur with a bit of grey all around, a much older tauren with horns that bent down that were better for ramming then piercing. He wore simple clothing, and from what Nas could guess, he looked like a druid.

"A naga and another orc? You've been hunting more then the usual game it seems, Genkic." The older tauren said with a smile on his face.

"Indeed. This is Galkar Thundertotem..." refering to the older tauren. "and Drakarn Swifthoof." Pointing at the Tauren that was dressed in studed leather armor and heftinga giant halberd. The orc pondered a minute as he looked around. "Say where is..."

Another tauren came out of the bushes. This one was smaller then the other two, and I realized that this red and white colored tauren was a female, and by her armor and symbols, I guessed she was a shaman. In her hands she held a stack of firewood.

"And Lilly Swifthoof, Drakams younger sister." Genkic finished.

"Hunting new game Genkic?" The shaman asked as she dropped the firewood .

"Oh shut it." The hunter said before turning back to us. "Now, it's your turn to introduce yourselves to us."

"I am Raknam Wolfclaw, youngest brother of the Wolfclaw shamans." My orc companion revealed his name at last to me and gave a small bow.

"My name is Nas'kara'nas Winterbane, exiled spellwarrior of Azshara." I gave my own bow.

"No problem young ones." The older hunter began, shifting his body so he was now facing us. "Few would readily trust just met strangers. But tell me, from where did you come from, and what are your stories?"

After explaining who we were and what had happened, the younger tauren seemed to get excited.

"So the trolls are nearby! We can report this to Ralka. I'm sure she wil be pleased that we found it, and then we can get out of this forsaken jungle!"

"Its now more then that, brother. We need to rescue those people from the trolls. It's unheard of for them to take so many prisoners and risk so many casualties. They are up to something, and now I'm curious what they are planning to do with all of them."

"But sister, we have no..." He began.

"Besides, our mission still isn't complete, Drakan." Galkar quickly interrupted. "We can't go back until we figure out where this particular group is based."

"Ssso..." I finally cut in. "Why are all of you out here anyway?"

This time Genkic responded. "Simple enough. A small troll tribe, smaller then most of the others here known as the Shadowclaw Clan has been capturing people as of late. Normally this wouldn't concern a enterprising goblin like Ralka Glittertounge, but they have repeatedly attacked her shipments, killed her people, and nearly kidnapped her, twice. She believes that someone is using the trolls as a back drop to try and ruin her. We've been hired to hunt down their location and report back to her, but any we kill along the way will give us a nice little bonus. From the group you described, as well as how fast they worked sounds accurate to our reports, which also means you've done part of our job for us by giving us a good lead to finally track them down."

Drakan shot up. "You idiot! Why did you tell them that?! They could be spies or..."

"Shut up and sit down, youngling" Galkar began. "It's highly doubtful any enemy would send a naga and an orc shaman to spy on others as a group, especially with a story like theirs, considering I heard of such news from the group we passed the other day, of how the arena fighters managed to escape after a demon had damaged both the arena and the surrounding town. Besides, we could use all the help we can get."

The orc looked at the hunting group, then back to us. "We will do what we can to help you." I nodded, realizing now that we had a better chance to find and hopefully rescue the others. I wondered about the information given to us, and pondered on it. At first it was hard to believe, but came to the realization tat it would make plenty since for a goblin who had rough time with a group of trolls would try to do something about it, but something didn't seem right, although I couldn't figure out what. I let it go for the moment as we were offered a place to sleep, so we could get a good start in the early morning. It would be then that an investigation of the attack would commence, and hopefully lead us right to the trolls. I laid down, and my eyes slowly closed, the last image in my mind being that of fair Onica before slumber came upon me.

I found myself hidden at the top of ruins of some sort that reminded me of the arena, with Ralkar and the hunting group next to me. Below me was a large gathering which I was close to ignoring when my mind picked up something from the dreadful voices I was hearing, compelling me to stay. The images began to clear, and I realized I was seeing a large number of trolls holding down a large number of prisoners of various races. From them, a dark, purple skinned woman was pushed toward a oddly dressed troll. She was forced in front of him, and he pulled out a item and began chanting. Energies swirled about, and my visioned cleared, and I realized with horror what was happening. "Onica! No!!!" The troll witch doctor plunged the dagger into the elf, and her body suddenly went through a fury of spasms as her body became terribly bloated. A bright flash of light blinded, me, and when I looked again, in her place, was a creature from nightmares itself. A nathrizem dreadlord stood there now, and laughed. "Now, sacrifice the others and summon the rest of my army through their bodies and souls!" Then the demon turned, facing me directly. "Nas'kara'nas...Nas'kara'nas...Nas'karas..." Anger flew through me and I lunged forward...

And my claws nearly took off Ral'kars head, who leaped away as the others quickly drew their weapons. I breathed heavily, and felt that my body was numb with fear and cold.

"That was some dream you were having Nas'kara'nas. Or was it something more?" The elder tauren asked as he stared hard into me, and I could almost feel his spirit within me as he looked for the answers within

I slowly pushed myself up and gave a small bow to Ral'kar. "I'm sorry, and yes, the dream...was quite vivid. I think something terrible is going to happen to my friends if we do not act and soon."

"Well then, I guess it's good then that dawn is upon us. Tell us, what did you see?" The younger shaman asked.

I took several heavy breaths before speaking, telling them what I had seen in my dream. All of them had disgruntled looks as I described the bodies being bloated and transforming into doom guards and the like.

"That is quite a vision, young one." Galkar said as he seemed in deep thought.

Lilly shook her head. "Now it's even more imperative that we stop those trolls."

"So thats where the demons came from in such a short amount of time..." Raktar said as he thought, most likely from the demon from the arena. Things were starting to fall into place as he mentioned that, and connections were beginning to form.

"Well then, what ever are we doing here? Let's go hunt some trolls!" Genkic called out. We gathered our things, and went back to the waterfall. The shaman and I looked at one another and nodded. We cast spells on the group, as well as the hunter pets, and we began climbing up the waterfall's side as if we were simply crawling on the floor. Soon we arrived and we began looking at once at the camp site. It was very clean, no sign of a battle.

"Teh, they did too good a job. There are no prints of any kind here; it is too clean. Look there." Genkic pointed toward a path. "There is very little dirt that has been moved, no sign of tracks or anything like that. They are trying to hide way to hard." Genkic began leading the way, following the clean trail that was almost impossible to spot.

Galkar smiled. "Genkic is quite the tracker, no doubt about it."

"It's too bad that he can't fight well..." Drakarn grumbled, and was rewarded a smack on the head by Lilly.

"Be nice, you twit!" She said, glaring at him.

"Quite the interesting group we have found, isn't it?" Raknam whispered to me.

I had to nod in agreement. It was an odd group that we had. Something bothered me about Drakarn though, but I couldn't place it. I put the thoughts aside as we continued to follow the path. I looked at the small group, and with my rested mind, I realized something.

"Galkar, are there more then just you? Where there others in the group?"

The Tauren nodded sadly. "Yes, there was, young one. A dwarf, two humans, and a elf. They agreed to do the hunting three days ago, but they never returned. We fear the trolls may have gotten them, or worse, that they..."

Genkic stopped suddenly and looked around, and I wondered what caught his attention. "Ah damn..." He said as he whipped out his weapons.

Quickly there were trolls all around us, and I lifted my own weapon just as they came down upon us. The first one who came at me went flying back into the trees, as a frost bolt slammed into his chest. I couldn't watch him land as three more landed on the ground with weapons drawn, and lunged at me. Lifting my trident, I barley had time to deflect the first wave of attacks as I found myself forced into a defensive battle. Calling upon what arcane magic that still flowed through my veins, I transformed the very essence of the arcane magic into a destructive form.

"Arcana Elskara!" I called out, and set several purplish projectiles ahead of me, slamming into two jungle trolls, injuring one and causing the other to fall on his back.

I didn't look to see the damage as I whirled my trident around and caught a spear from gutting me. Whirling the weapon, I brought the end of it and slammed it hard against the trolls head, causing him to drop. A female troll lunged at me with a large ax, and I brought up my weapon in an attempt to block it, but I missed the blade, which was nearly my undoing as the bodies of the two weapons collided, the ax blade mere inches, if that, away from my head, and creeping closer. I was amazed at her strength, not at the fact that I was fighting a female, but the fact a troll in general could give me a hard time. Calling upon my own innate strength, I shoved hard enough to send a human flying through the air. Instead I only managed to push her a few feet away, but she was off balance, and I quickly cast another spell.

"Vin'ti Minadu!" I called out, and purple energy swarmed over her, then disappeared as fast as it had appeared. She grinned and took one step toward me, then fell to the ground in a blissful slumber.

Then I felt cold steel dig into my flesh, causing me to yell as I felt my blood spilling onto my body. I whirled my trident and thrust forward, only to find the troll that had attacked me out of my reach, though the dagger he hit me with was still in me. With some effort, I reached down and pulled the weapon out, causing more fresh blood to pour over me and the ground. As we stared at one another, I realized this warrior was no ordinary warrior, and he seemed different from the others that I had battled against before. He lifted his two battle axes, and leapt into the air with speed and strength I had never seen before in a troll. His weapons collided with mine, and it took everything I had in that split moment to keep me from falling backwards. He used his own weapons against mine to fling himself back, and the moment he landed, he charged again.

"Kal'natar Lackta!" I called, sending a giant fireball hurling toward the troll.

The trolls axes suddenly began to glow a faint blue, and he struck the fire ball dead on. There was a burst of energy that nearly made me loose my balance, and when I looked, the troll was still standing, the magical ice enchants of his weapons still glowing from the attack.

"Oh, for the love of the arcane!" I yelled in frustration as he pointed his trident at the troll. "Gallmak!"

The giant wave once again fired from my trident and shot toward the troll at high speeds. Taking one of his axes, the troll tossed it with all of his might, striking the wave when it was still a good distance away. Suddenly there was a flash of light, and it became a frozen wall, with the ax trapped in the middle. However, it didn't stop moving as it continued toward the troll who looked at it with wide eyes. Apparently, he had expected it to stop, like I had.

It slammed into the troll, the ice wall shattering like glass as it spilled all around the areas. He was dazed, but not out of the fight. I moved my way up to him and held the trident at him before he could fully recover.

"Oh mon...I be hurtin more den da time me wife clubbed me wit a metal mallet...ooohh..." Then the trolls eyes met my own as I stared down at him. "Ah damn...I donna suppose it'd be to late to surrender mon?"

The naga shook his head. "A sssurender isss a sssurender in my book. Ssstand up carefully, and drop your weaponsss."

The trolls eyes met mine defiantly, and for a moment I thought he was going to attack again. "All warriors, stand down! Dis fight is lost!"

I dared a quick glance behind me, and saw what few trolls standing where leaping away from their opponets, dropping their weapons, and surrendering on the spot. I turned back to the troll in question. "Jussst...who are you?"

"I be sub-cheif Kalso Oceanaxe, son of da chief Zalzin Oceanaxe." The troll said, his voice filled with pride.

"Hmm...come with me..." I told him as the trolls began to be rounded up.

"Wait mon!" The troll called out in surprise, turning his gaze to one of the group members. I looked around, and found his focus was on the shaman. "Raknam? Is dat you mon?"

The orc turned with just as much surprise as he got a good look at the troll. The two just stared for a moment, before big grins appeared on their faces.

"Malkar! You damn troll, you! What are you doing here?!" He asked, barley containing his excitement.

"It be a long story mon." The troll said as he looked between his own forces and my own. "I say we be havin a truce until we get this sorted out eh?"

A few hours later, and many healing potions later, my group was joined with twelve jungle trolls, and we learned quite a bit. Apparently, Raknam ad Kalso had known one another during the first war. A small number of jungle trolls known as the Oceanax Tribe had joined with the water forces of the Horde when they had been running low on man power. The trolls of the tribe helped earn a few major victories for the Horde in the ocean battles. During the second war, the Oceanax tribe continued to give the Horde support on the seas, and continued to prove to be masterful sailors, and unlike most other trolls, they had a deep sense of honor and family tradition, making them much easier to trust then the evil forest trolls. The bond of trust between the orcs and trolls of the sea never left, and Raknam and Kalso had grown up together as a result of it, before the Alliance finally tracked them down, where they had since been separated. We also learned that the chief of the Oceanax Tribe, had been captured by the Shadowclaw clan, and were now forced to do the tribes bidding, or loose many of their tribe to the Shadowclaws evil sacrifices.

"So mon, I be dinkin we be joinin forces perhaps? Wit your fightin prowlness and me own numbers, perhaps we can save everyone. I can be sure to report dat we definitly saw a number of people dat match da description of yer friends, Nas."

I sat and contemplated what had been said. "Ssso..thisss group did attack usss the other night. But...how did they become so organized, and why are they sssumoning demonsss? We have to find out, and we have to stop them."

Galkar nodded. "Indeed, good naga. We must strike at their base of operations, and take them down permanetly, if we are to defeat them."

Lilly also nodded. "We must stop them at all cost. We can't allow them to summon any more demons and pollute nature with their foul magic anymore!"

Genkic smiled. "Yeah, and with these trolls with us, it will be much easier tracking them down." He lifted up his rifle and loaded it. "I'm more then ready to hunt down some of those demonic loonies."

Daktar stepped in. "The question is, how do we beat them? Based on what Kalso has told us, the trolls outnumber us at least seven to one, if not more. We need more allies."

Darkarn finally stepped up, and he shook his head. "As much as we should help them, it would be suicide. We are far to few, and they have far to may forces. Where are we going to get the help we need before tomorrow?"

Thats what had all of us stumped, and we tried to work out just what could work. I snapped my fingers. "Kroso. How far is their base from here?"

The jungle troll thought about it for a minute. "Hmm...it'd take me group less den two hours ta reach it. But it would take about five hours or more for ye. Why do ye ask?"

I smiled as my pan formulated in my noggin. "The prisssonersss. They will be perfect alliesss. Asss far asss anyone isss concccerned, you are ssstill loyal to the other...hold on."

Turning, I pointed my hand toward some trees and spoke. "Arcana Elskara!" Suddenly arcane missiles shot from my hand once again, slamming into something in the trees. A jungle troll fell from hidden coverage, large holes in his chest. He was dead before he even hit the ground.

I smiled. "Now that all spies are killed, back to the plan." I then turned my attention back to Kalso. "I need you to go ahead and become the new guards for the prisoners. Once everything is set, you release them. Basssed again on what you told usss, they have many ssslavesss and prisssonersss, more then enough to fill our ranksss. By then, we shall have arrived as well."

The troll shook his head. "I wish it was dat easy, good naga. However, me father also be one of da prisoners, so dey don't trust me none..." Then he smiled. "Unless we..._work_ with da other guards, if ye be catch me drift, mon."

All of us began to smile. "I think we have a plan." Raknam spoke all of our thoughts, and we began drawing out what would happen. Things were possibly beginning to look up for us.


	6. Rescue Attempt

Authors note- As usual, life is getting in the way of the time it takes for getting these stories out, but hopefully I'll get myself back on track soon enough. So, if all is well and done, here you go.

Lightning blazed through out Stranglethorn as heavy rain pounded away at the ground below. Creatures all over the jungle were taking what shelter they could against the massive storm that had appeared unexpectedly. Well, most creatures were, though I found the rain rather refreshing, almost reminded me of the ocean in a way. Though it was a poor substitute, it was better then nothing.

"Hey, as much as you like dancing in the rain, are you coming inside to eat Nas?...Nas?...NAS YOU HALF-WITTED EXCUSE OF A MURLOC GET IN HERE!!!!" A gruff voice yelled through the howling winds.

Turning, I could make out the form of Genkic within the cave we had found shelter in, a small fire glowing behind him, outlining his appearance. On the opposite side of the cave, his massive panther lay asleep, ignoring the storm that raged outside. I wondered for a moment if I should try to mimic a murlocs usual guttural calls, but decided against it. The wind began to pick up, and although it had no real affect on me, I decided it was best to return, for I could smell the meal that was cooking nearing completion.

What water my scaled didn't absorb dripped onto the cave floor. I began to make my way where the meal of Spicy Raptor Stew, but Genkic quickly jumped in the way.

"Hey, no food until you dry off! I'm not having you put out the fire that I went through the trouble of making! Unlike you I like staying dry!"

A growl came from the corner and Genkic gave a sigh. "Alright, both of us would prefer to stay..."

I shrugged and flames suddenly erupted around my body, causing Genkic to leap an impressive ten feet back and five feet high, right over the cooking fire, dodging the meal that had been set out, and nearly landing right on top of his panther companion. The excess water from my body was gone, and I looked at him curiously.

"Should I have given a warning first?" I asked with innocence in my voice, holding back the urge to roll around and laugh at him.

Genkic responded by pointing at me, his hands still shaking somewhat. "Don't ever do that again! At least when I'm near you!"

I only shrugged and handed him his bowl. "So are we going to eat?"

The orc glared at me. "I'm beginning to hate you...oh so much..." He plopped on the ground and muttered to himself as he began eating, and it took every bit of will power I had to not snicker at the situation at hand. I took a few sips of the soup, and deciding that it didn't have much taste to it, I downed it in one big gulp.

Genkic stared for several seconds with a smirk, and when nothing happened, his jaw dropped. "By the sweet spirits, I've never seen anyone down that soup like that and actually live!"

I gave him an odd look. "Whys that? There was no spice in it at..."

I couldn't be certain, but I think over half of Stranglethorn, for a moment at least, stopped and wondered at what sounded something like a dying, squealing murloc whose innards were being roasted from the inside echoed throughout the lands.

Whether half of Stranglethorn heard it or not was unimportant; a more pressing matter was at hand.

It took about half an hour and roughly eighty magically summoned waters before the burning sensation went away. Genkic was crying from how hard he had been laughing at my predicament. Finally he was able to stifle his laughter somewhat and looked at me with a sheepish grin.

"Should be more careful when trying foods you've never had before."

"Sh...shut up..." Was all I could muster, which caused Genkic to laugh all the harder

"You don't have the stomach to handle that much of my spicy cooking." He said, his laughter dieing down a bit. "Hell, sometimes I can barely survive."

Silence once again took the cave as the final stages of recovery took me. When I had finally regained enough of myself to sit up straight, I turned to Genkic, who had just finished cleaning up the last of dinner.

"Genkic...why are you out here?"

The orc looked mildly confused. "Didn't I already explain it to you?"

I shook my head. "I don't mean your missssion. I mean why personally are you out here? Why are you not in Kalimdor with the rest of your people?"

"Ah that, well to be honest..." He gave a chuckle. "There wasn't enough gold in it. Certainly there is nothing wrong doing things out of honor and duty, but it doesn't pay the bills. Besides, fighting against quilboar and centaur wasn't any kind of real challenge, unlike what this land offers. Not only does it offer good hunting, like the raptors and large cats..." That comment caused his animal companions ears to flicker ever so slightly. "It also provides enemies that force you to think on your toes such as the trolls and the Kazan a human group in the area. There are great opportunities to be made here, and the goblins know it. They are willing to pay a nice amount of coin to insure that their operations are successful in the long run. With such conflict comes great opportunity for wandering souls like myself to make a living. So then..." He began as he made himself comfortable on his make-shift hammock. "Whats your story? Whys a naga working with what your people like to call 'land dwellers,' exactly? I thought your people weren't exactly on 'friendly' terms with ours."

I was silent for a moment as I turned my gaze back out toward the cave. Slowly I moved toward the entrance, watching lightning flash through the sky as the rain continued to pound into the ground. "It was like this...a terrible storm blasting from the heavens to the land below...when I was forever banished from my people." I turned back to the orc who's attention was starting to focus on me.

"Perhaps I should explain things from the beginning..." I made myself comfortable near the entrance of the cave, watching for the signal from Rak'tar.

"Within the naga culture, males are the warriors, brutes, and sword of the naga culture due to their size and strength. Rarely do they hold any kind of command position outside of the military due to the current state of things where females hold all positions of power, under the rule of Queen Azshara."

"Azshara?" The orc turned his head to face me. "Wasn't she some kind of queen for the night elves a long time ago?"

I nodded. "Correct. She and many of the other 'highborne' found a way to keep themselves immortal through arcane means, though now she is a monster instead of the beautiful night elf that she was once renowned for." I turned my attention to Genkic for a brief moment. "You seem to know a bit about the night elves history."

To that Genkic laid back on the hammock starring at the ceiling. "I don't have a fancy for those particular elves much, so did a little research on them and learned a bit more then I needed. Anyways, continue on."

I nodded and looked back outside when I saw a flash of lightning. I waited for a few moments but it did not repeat itself; the signal hadn't been sent yet.

"I wasss a rare exception to most of the naga malesss in the fact that I had an extremely powerful talent for magic. Back then, I wasss consssidered to have enough arcane magic to rival a human or elven arch-mage. Many despised me because within a short time I could master spells that took them weeks, if not months to safely control. I was carefully tutored so my arcane power could be used efficiently, but controlled at the main sorceresses academy...yesss, sorceresses." I said quickly before Genkic could say anything. "Remember, most spell casters in my culture are female."

I gave out a small sigh as a light chuckle escaped the orc before I continued. "I was raisssed like many others to hate the sssurface world and all who lived upon it, for they were to blame for our misssfortunes and cursed exissstence, though I always questioned that claim from our ancient history when I learned we had sided with the burning legion. I had my doubtsss, but they did not manifessst until we were summoned by Illadin nearly five years ago. My group was part of a mass raid against our ancient enemiesss, the night elvesss, in order to create a safe passsage for the dark lord so he could acquire an artifact of ancient and terrible power."

I took a deep breath before continuing.

"I used my magic along with ssseveral sorceresses to create a fearsssome storm which wrecked many of the elven shipsss while our warriors attacked the land. I watched as many helpless night elves were killed in front of me, those unfortunate to fall from the ships, and their deaths did not phase me in the least."

I shook my head as the memories came back to be like a tidal wave. The sea was dark during that time, but he had become darker still with the blood of the many night elves who had perished within the waves from the cruel tridents of my people, or torn apart by the sharks and other preparatory sea creatures that were under my peoples control. Even the images of mur'locs ripping their way through night elven flesh with their teeth and spears still haunted my memory.

"At leassst...not until two young night elves, mere children, fell from the safe haven of the shipsss. I will never forget that moment ssseeing true fear in their eyesss, eyes that were young and innocent of the horrors that the world had to offer until that moment in time. It was in that moment that something inside me awoke, and before my people could cause any more damage..."

I turned and faced Genkic as lightning flashed through the sky and sorrow took my features.

"I turned on them. Withdrawing my power from the storm I had help create, I used my magic to kill two mur'locs closing in on the night elf children, and came to their rescue, quickly reaching the shore line. When I reached the land for the first time, I turned my magic against those who I had served with for several years. Using my arcane might, I sent powerful bolts of lightning through the sea, killing several of the key sorceresses that were controlling the storm. Though I halted their attacks, the damage was already done, and the night elven fleet was all but destroyed, so I then turned my magic on the warriors who made it on the land, killing those who stood in my way as I helped the children reach what few defending night elves that were left. I helped them escape into the woods, and stayed behind to hold off those who tried to pursue them...a very huge and costly mistake."

I turned my head back outside, and another bolt of lightning flashed through the sky, and the image of that fateful day, for just a moment, rematerialized in front of me. My fists tightened as the memory replayed in front of me.

"My final opponent wasss a night elf turned demon named Illadin. He, along with two of his sssayter body guards were the next group to challenge me. The battle only lasted for about ten seconds at best. I unleashed a powerful arcane blast at them, a spell I had used only once before to kill a hydra that matched the size of a small dragon. Illadins guards were killed instantly, but the demonic elf wasn't even phased from the attack, instead he charged at me head on with his demonic blades. In return, I fired a blast from my trident, which knocked the wind out of him, and surprised the Betrayer for a moment. A moment was all that lasted, unfortunately. I don't remember much of what happened during that time, but all I do know is he hit me with a spell that cut through my defensive spells like a blade through grass, and hurled me into the sky, and colliding hard on the ground, knocking me out cold."

I gave a sigh as I remember feeling something hit me hard in the chest, seeing the world twirl around me, and then smashing through a tree before losing consciousness. Even now I still couldn't believe just how easily Illadin beat me, nor how easily he had commanded such power. But that was not where the story ended.

"Part of me still beleivesss I should have died then, but much worse was in store for me. When I awoke, I found myself chained in the grand hall of Nazjatar, our wondrous city in arcane dampeners, preventing me from using any of my magic to escape, and it was there I was judged for my crimes in killing our allies, attacking my own kind, and aiding in the escape of the night elves that the ultimate punishment was to be dealt to me. It was there that I met Queen Azshara for the first time."

My voice trembled at her name and for good reason. Her awesome power was nothing shy of incredible, easily matching that of all but the most powerful of dreadlords, and I was to be a victim of that power.

"I learned that it was because of the arcane energy that existed within my body that I had not been executed earlier, and was now at the mercy of my queen. She used dark arcane arts and..." My entire body shuddered at the memory. "She began ripping the arcane essence from my body. The pain...I could not describe such pain accurately enough to portray just how horrible it truly was, something like having your body and spirit ripped to shreds perhaps...but even that is not enough to describe the horrors of the pain that wrought through my body as every bit of my being was torn asunder and made apart of the dark queen of arcane magic."

My hands drifted to my eyes and my claws lightly went down the two bright pink scars that stood out on my midnight black scales, a painful reminder of what had occurred that fateful day. Genkic was out of the hammock now, looking at me with disbelief.

"How did you survive?" He asked.

"I don't honestly know, but I know that I after all but the tiniest part of my soul was and power was extracted, I was thrown to the bottom of a dark pit, where only the traitors are placed after death or close to fall to this hellish resting place where are bodies are left to rot and to be fed to the local wildlife in the area, but somehow..."

Lightning shot from the sky, and it caused me to turn and look outside. It struck again, three lightning bolts shot through the sky and connected with one another. To some it would be considered a once in a life time phenomenon, but we knew better.

"Thats the signal! We need to move out, now!"

I yelled to Genkic, who was already gathering his items and weapons with great swiftness as his animal companion got up and looked ready for a battle. Grabbing my trident and a recently made heavy net, we began making our way through the jungle as fast as we could, going in the direction where the three bolts had connected.

The orc hunter kept up not far behind me, an impressive feat considering the heavy rain and slick foliage all around us. He was truly skilled in his craft, easily tackling what nature was throwing at him. I then turned my attention back to what was in front of me. I weaved through the trees, branches and tall grass as easily as moving down a paved road. My mind was now focused on the rescuing of my friends and companions, and nothing short of death itself would stop me from attempting to complete this task.

We ran through the jungle for nearly a good ten minutes before we both stopped at once as we noticed something. It was no longer raining where we were. I turned, and saw that the harsh elements of mother nature were being forced away from an extremely large area by some unseen arcane force. I could still see the cloudy sky, and the rain attempting to pierce through the mystic shield that had been placed

"Hmm...I don't like this one bit." Genkic said as he hefted his gun, looking at the surroundings for any sign of ambush.

We began moving cautiously through the jungle once more, looking carefully for any sign of troll activity, however we only found where trolls had recently been. Then a faint sound began to creep to our senses. The closer we got to the echoing sound, the more we realized what it was we were hearing. We were hearing the sound of trolls chanting. Lots of trolls chanting.

Climbing some old ruins, we finally found them. Looking down from our hiding place well above our enemies were trolls, hundreds of them chanting in what looked like a ritual grounds that was well lit with torches. Now I could make out the name, Zelvalaga, that was what they were repeating over and over. I scanned the crowd, and found that there were many non-trolls as well, bound and on their knees, as if waiting for something.

"Nas, over there! Look!" Genkic pointed.

Following where he was pointing, I felt my gut begin to twist. A creature straight out of a nightmare stood over the forms of Onica and Tara, preparing to devour their souls. I knew the demonic horror well. It was that of a Dreadlord, one of the foulest of all the demonic beings, well known for both its powerful spell-like abilities, their strength in combat, and their cunning. Not wishing for my friends to be sacrificed, I realized that I had to act fast, very fast. I quickly looked around the area and found an extremely long vine that would suit my purposes quite well. I gave it a good pull, loosening it up from some of the long branches in the way, I took up my trident, took a deep breath, and pushed myself off the edge just as Genkic warned against it.

Once again I flew through the air, and angling myself and my trident, I shot from the vine like a harpoon toward the dread lord. However, the demonic creature looked up and noticed my rapid decent, and with an arrogant look that could rival even the elves, the creature fired a massive fireball straight at me, which not only lit up the area more then it was already, but put me in a bit of danger I had not thought off.

Calling upon the powers of my trident, I yelled out its word of power. "_Gall'mak!_" then I realized just after I had said it, I was still in the air.

"Oh..." I began as the powerful wave shot out against the demonic fel attack. Between the kick-back from my own weapon, added with the force when the two elements collided, I was sent flying back at incredible speed, only stopping when I slammed hard into an old stone wall.

"bugger..." I managed to finish as pain racked my body as hung as part of the wall for several seconds before slowly peeling off and falling onto the ground, leaving a very nice imprint on the wall, though at the moment I could hardly appreciate it as I slowly forced myself up to find at least two dozen trolls armed to the teeth closing in on my position, the demon already forgetting about me as he went back to his ritual.

Cursing, I hefted my trident, and felt a sharp pain in my right shoulder, and I realized that it was either dislocated or broken, either way it wasn't going to be much use. I stared at the trolls approaching, hatred and anger filling their expressions, taking a guess they weren't too appreciative of a naga trying to ruin their little ceremony and attacking the demon they seemed to worship. Hefting my weapon in my left arm, I prepared myself for their onslaught.

So when the walls on either side of me came crashing down around me, I was more then a little suprised, as were the trolls when giant creatures with strength that could knock an orc out in one blow if their stench didn't get to you. I realized that they were ogres, and leading them, hefting two mighty battle axes was the same Mok'nathal who had managed to keep the Thunder Lizard from getting out of control from the arena, who had also left a day before the ambush had occurred.

For a moment there was just silence as both groups stared at each other, then what sounded like thunder cracking on the ridge above me, followed by a demonic scream caused all hell to break loose. The prisoners, who all had seemed bound and helpless began fighting back, free of their bonds as they surprised the trolls near them as others began flinging spells at the confused trolls. The ogres charged in, wailing against the group of trolls that had threatened me, while ignoring me completely as they charged past. Digging into the small strap pouch I wore around my chest, I dug out the last of the healing potions I had. Drinking the fluid, I felt the pain in my arm disappear, and renewed strength filled my body. Letting out my own reptilian battle cry, I joined the fray.


	7. Chaotic Fight

Authors Note- I LIVE AGAIN! Yeesh, who'da though that life could get so complicated? They really need to teach us this in school before sending us out in the real world...xx; But yes! I am back, and going to be attempting to update more regularly! Hopefully! (Well, I've finally gotten a work schedule that has been constant for more then a month, so that should help a bit) Now then, without further delay, here is the next chapter!

Battle raged all around me as I made my way toward the demon that had threatened my friends. The former prisoners, along with several of the troll guards were now in an all out war against the jungle trolls that had held them captives. In more ways then one, it was pure chaos.

"Zal'kata Ishatol!" I called out, sending a powerful ice bolt toward the Nathrazim in question, intent on keeping him from hurting Onica and Tara.

The demon hadn't been paying attention as the ice spell slammed hard into his side, causing him to stumble, but not lose footing. Focusing all of his attention on me, the demon unfurled his wings and took to the sky focusing all of his attention on me. This was the first time I'd seen one of the Nathrazim up close, and I began to wonder on just how I would beat the aberration. Well over twice my size, I could see fel energy swarming every fiber of the demons being, telling me that this would definitely not be an easy fight.

"You will pay for your transactions against me and my minions!" The demon called out, giving out a war cry as he went into a dive at me with his claws, which burned with fel fire.

"You can put it on my bill!" I called back as I called upon the arcane energy to create a magical barrier around me as I jumped to the side.

The nathrazim slashed where I had been, and would have taken for the sky once more when shackles of pure energy suddenly seized the demon, holding him in mid air. It gave out a shocked roar and turned its blood gaze at me as I continued to chant and hold him in place. Sharp pain shot through my head as a stone club slammed into it, causing me to lose focus on my spell. Twisting my trident around, I thrust my weapon blindly behind me, and felt it connect connect with flesh. I turned a second later to see the troll who had hit me drop his weapon, and fall to the ground.

"Prepare to die, naga filth!" The demon called, and I turned to see the demon casting a spell.

"Me say you play!" Came a voice that spoke of brute strength and stupidity in one go.

A meaty hand grabbed the demon by the foot and slammed it into the ground. As my vision finally came back to me, I saw an ogre wearing a stupid grin as it brought its giant club down on the demon. Despite the strength and power of the mighty ogre, a simple club was no match for a Dreadlords powerful armor as the wooden weapon snapped as it made connection. I had to duck as a piece of the broken weapon flung over my head, and smashed right into a troll sneaking up on me from behind. Dazed, the creature tried to recover, but I didn't give him the time as I brought my trident down on his head.

"Can't any of you fight without sneaking up on me?!" I yelled in annoyance as I turned back to my previous target.

The ogre who had attempted to battle the Nathrazim was on the ground, gripping its stomach as its face contorted in pain. Speaking in its foul language, flames begun to erupt around the demons claws, and a second later the ogre found himself engulfed in fel fire. Using the bought time, I fired an array of arcane missiles, only to watch as the demons armor simply absorbed the spell. My opponent turned with a sadistic smile as the ogres body was completely consumed by the demons flame.

"Little fool!" He began as a dark aura began to surround his body "Do you really think you can stand up to me, the mighty dreadlord Zal'gothalas?"

I gave a smile of my own as I held my trident, preparing for a charge. "Zal'gothalasss...your name will be remembered as the firssst dreadlord to fall to the blade of Nas'kara'nas." Calling forth the power of the ocean, I once again summoned a mighty water element to aid me in the battle ahead. Zal'gothalas just laughed at my summoning attempt.

"What a feeble ally you have summoned." The demon began as he casted a spell of his own. "Let me show you the true power of the legion!"

Once again channeling dark magic, the clouds above us began to swirl as demonic magic began to affect the world. From the sky four giant green comets shot from the stormy sky and through the barrier. I quickly jumped out of the way as one of them crashed near me, which sent me skidding across the ground. As I regained myself, I saw a giant, burning hand of fel flames emerge from the crater that had just been made. Hefting itself, the giant, burning elemental stood at its full height and gave a terrible roar to announce its presence. It was followed in quick succession by three additional cries as the demonic elementals of demon fire and stone prepared themselves for battle.

"Infernals...oh this day just gets better..." I gave a sigh as I prepared for their charge.

"Nas? Nas is that you?!" A feminine voice called from behind him.

Caught by surprise, I turned to find myself staring at Onica and Tara, who were still bound to the large stone tablet. Quickly I brought by claws down on their bonds, which easily snapped apart under my strength. The two got up and rubbed their injured limbs before the two looked at me.

"Nas I..." Onica was interrupted as one of the infernals gave out a battle cry and charged toward Nas and the two recently rescued females.

Whirling my trident about, I called forth the mighty waves of the ocean as the magical wave appeared once more, slamming hard into the charging beast of fel fire and stone. Consumed by the cold ocean waters, empowered by the mystical magics that flowed through the land, the infernal was unable to withstand the attack as the flames died all around it, turning the once mighty golem into nothing more then a pile of rubble. Only seconds as the infernal fell apart did a beam of dark energy fly by where the fel golem had stood and slammed into my body. I was barley able to register what had happened as I slammed into the stone tablet, causing it to crack as I slumped to the dirt ground. Pain racketed my body as my vision began to blurr. I felt my weapon fall from my hand, and I could hear the faint screaming and yelling of the ones I had saved. I felt darkness beginning to creep over me as the light of day began to fade. I could make out a demon creature charging forward toward me, and my memories began to fall back to an early time, nearly four years ago...

_'You have failed you're so called allies...you are nothing more then a weak worm. To think someone like you even dared to challenge me...how foolish of you. You can't save anyone...you are a failure...'._ A dark voice spoke in my mind, and I knew the voice well...the same one that had brought the broken bodies of the night elves I had tried to save, the same one that laughed at my efforts to defend those who hated my kind...the one who had caused me to fail.

"ILLADIN!" I yelled as rage and renewed determination flowed through me as I hefted my weapon and brought it bearing down upon my enemy.

The trident slammed against the demons armor with a resonating clang. At the same time, the demons claw struck me hard, leaving a severe gash in my already injured arm. Before I could react, the demon moved to strike again, a blow that would be a killing strike.

"Noo!" A shrilled voice yelled out as Tara flew right above me, her entire body glowed with magical runes of power.

A magical aura covered the young harpy girl as she held the demons arm, then giving out a shrilled cry, she threw the demon back. As Zal'gothals stumbled back, the sound of thunder once again cracked through the sky as a bullet struck the dreadlords chest armor causing it to crack further. At the same moment, divine energy struck the demon, causing him to cry out as holy fire consumed his body. Just as I turned to see the light of elune fade from Onicas finger tips, a trio of battle cries erupted as a Drakan, Cenkic, and Dak'tar charged at the demon, brining their mighty weapons to bear. Lightning blasted down on the demon as well from Raknam, while giant vines erupted from the earth from the calling of the elder druid, and at the same time from the young tauren shaman the elements of ice raged against the demon. Tashi brought her arcane energy also collided with the monstrosity as Karadan brought two daggers to bear from behind, along with a yapping call of a gnoll as the creature swung its twin morning stars against the fel demon. Giving my own battle cry, I renewed my attack in melee combat, bringing my trident to bear.

The assault was merciless as Zal'gothalas tried to fight all of us off, but he was being quickly overwhelmed...or so I thought. Letting out a demonic roar, the creature let loose a powerful blast from its body, sending all of us flying away from the demon. I lost track of the others as I hit the ground hard, and I saw my trident fly off far in the distance in a heavily forested area.

"You foolish mortals..did you actually believe that your pathetic efforts could defeat me?! I am a Nathrazim! I will be beaten by rabble such as yourselves! You will feel the might of the Legion upon you!" He taunted as began drawing is energy in for a finishing attack.

Still trying to recover, I shook my head a few times as I desperately looked for my weapon. I then heard another roar over the fighting, and I saw lightning shooting from the distance. Memory served me well as I recalled the creature that made such a sound.

"Uh oh..." I said as I turned toward the demon, then back to where I saw the lightning...and I smiled, a smile so devious that children would have nightmares for life.

Whispering the ancient words of the elementals, I called my trident to me, and from the jungle the golden weapon flung at me, and I quickly caught it. At the same moment, I heard the roar yet again as trees began to fall aside like tall grass as the creature in question began charging. Whirling about, I called upon the energies my trident once more. Calling forth the command word yet again, a giant wave fired from my weapon and struck the dreadlord dead on, which did little to damage the demon, but I accomplished my goal; getting his attention. The demon yelled out in rage and charged right at me, while the other target was almost out of the woods. Calling upon the last of the energies within my weapon for the day, I smiled at the demon.

"Gallmak." I said with a smile as I sprung myself in the air a bit, letting the weapon blast me away from the charge.

I watched as the demon turned and ready to come after me, only for the giant thunder lizard from the arena to burst from the jungle woods on a collision course with the dreadlord.

Cursing, the demon let loose a powerful blast of pure fel energy at the massive lightning lizard, and at the same time, the creature fired its own lightning blast. Whirling my trident, I stabbed it into the ground as the two energies collided, sending a massive shock wave through the ancient troll ruins. Old buildings and walls began breaking apart as combatants were sent in call directions. Grasping tightly to my weapon, I held my ground as friend and foe alike were knocking off their feet.

Before the energy of the attack could fade, I drew together my arcane magic together, tapping into the large amount of magic that had filled the ancient troll ruins. As I called upon the arcane, I could hear whispers of power slipping into my mind as fel magic began to mesh with the power I was attempting to control. Shaking off the whispers and sharpening my will, I focused the magic onto the giant thunder lizard. Where the dreadlord and thunder lizard had been equal in size, the lizard suddenly became monstrous in size, the demon now being dwarfed by his opponent. Letting out a titanic roar that shook the ground, the thunder lizard charged again at its opponent, who quickly took to the skies and renewed his assault.

My attention was averted from the scene as I felt a powerful wave of magic being built up behind me. I barely had time to turn and call upon a magical shield to defend myself as a powerful fel blast struck me hard. The arcane shield I had created shattered before the attack as I was sent to the ground once again. I could feel a deep burning sensation within my body as my own arcane energies seemed to turn against me, burning me alive. The world was beginning to become hazy as I fought to keep my consciousness, fearing that death would come if I allowed myself to close my eyes.

It was then I felt a wave of energy flow through my body, one that was removing the pain that I felt, both physical and spiritual pain. As renewed strength flowed through my body, I found Onica standing above me, casting her healing magic upon my battered form. Genkic and Cenkic stood on either side of me, letting loose a barrage of shots from their rifles. Turning my attention to what they were shooting at, I gained an idea of what had hit me. Several trolls sorcerers were channeling magical energy to open a demonic gate way which allowed a horde of lesser demons to enter into our world, many of which were fel hounds, demonic creatures that consumed mana much in the same way demons consumed spirits of beings.

The others were trying to fight their way to the portal, but between the demons that were being summoned, and the hardened veterans of the dark troll forces were not only holding my allies back, but gaining ground. Noting that the dreadlord was still busy with the massive thunder lizard, I decided that it was a good time to switch tasks, and for this one, I had the perfect plan. Checking all of those that were near me

"Tara!" I called to the young harpy, who was quick to make her way over to me.

"Yes, Nas'kara'nas?" She asked quickly, looking ready and eager to help in what ever way she could.

Digging into my belt pouch, I handed the harpy a small vial. "Tara, I need you to throw thisss vial as hard as you can at that giant pillar over there when I give the sssignal." I pointed to the farthest of four giant pillars that surrounded the troll channelers.

Nodding, the harpy took off into the skies, actively avoiding ranged attacks from the trolls on the ground and what demons had been summoned in the skies. Meanwhile, I called upon my other allies.

"Galakr, Lilly, call upon your powers of nature and the spirits to destroy the pillar on the left side!" The two tauren nodded as they began to channel their spells.

"Genkic, Cenkic, get ready to fire those rifles of yours at the closet pillar!" The two looked at each other for a moment at realizing how close their names were. Shrugging, they threw in their best slugs and took aim while I turned my attention to the divine and arcane casters of the group. "Tashi, Onica, throw your most powerful spell at the pillar on the right side when I give the word."

Seeing everyone in agreement and ready, I began channeling the last of my arcane energy into a single spell, concentrating with all of my will power to increase its potential. Looking at the closest of the pillars, I launched a powerful ice bolt at the old structure, turning the thick rock into brittle ice. Using the last of my mana in such a fashion nearly made me loose myself to arcane exhaustion, but I was able to hold on to my mind as I yelled for the attack.

From the skies, Tara threw the vial I had given her, causing a massive explosion to occur at the farthest pillar. At the same time, arcane and holy fire slammed into the right side pillar, while giant roots and the shaking of the earth knocked the left one loose. To round out the destruction, the orc and dwarf sharpshooters took aim at the pillar I had frozen and fired, causing shards of frozen rock to shoot in all directions. As one, the four pillars fell inwards in a spectacular site as they crushed the trolls and demons alike, disappearing in a pile of rubble and dust.

A pained cry filled the area like thunder, making our victory over the summoners a short one. Turning my attention way from the destruction me and my allies had unleashed, I saw that the dreadlord had finally gained the upper hand against the thunder lizard, holding a giant fel sword that had pierced through the creatures hide. I watched as the thunder lizard gave out a last roar of defiance and let loose a wave of electrical energy through the demon before finally falling over to the ground.

The dreadlord was in terrible shape. One of his wings were badly mangled, and part of his left arm was missing. His demonic armor was all but destroyed, and blood ran down his body while severe burn marks could be seen were electricity had sored through his body. He reared his head at me, giving me a look that was filled with hatred and malice.

"I will not forgive this, naga..." With that said, Zal'gothalas vanished.

The magical barrier that had been covering the large area disappeared, causing the sky to go dark once more as the powerful storm now raged about us, unhindered. As I felt the cool and wonderful droplets from the sky wash over my body, I saw the remaining trolls of the Shadowclaw Clan beginning to retreat into the darkness of the jungle. Not many gave chase as the rain continued to pound down on them.

I could only smile as I saw those who had survived the conflict begin to gather about. It was then that I lifted my trident into the sky. "Thisss fight isss done...we are victorious!" I shouted, causing a wave of cheers to erupt from all around me.

The pain from my wounds finally reached me and I felt myself falling to the ground when a pair of arms caught me, and through my groggy vision, I could see Tara doing her best to support my weight, while Genkic caught me easily.

"Nas, you have to be one of the craziest people I have ever met." The orc looked down at me, and then he smiled. "I like your style."

I gave him a smile of my own, which I could feel blood dripping from my mouth as my injuries caught up with me. "Teh, glad to be liked."


	8. Ruin Discovery

It only took two days for the ancient troll ruins were quickly transformed into a temporary base of operations for the survivors of the conflict as we regained our strength and wits. It also didn't take long for us to get organized and learn just where our mysterious ogre allies had come from, and why they hadn't pounded anyone but Shadowclaw trolls into goo. Thana Eagleclaw, the same mok'nathal that had told us of Grom'gol, was also in charge of a ogre clan known as the Knucklecrusher Clan. Through extremely hard work the mok'nathal had gained control of the ogre clan and had lead it to an alliance with the orcs of Grom'gol. Well respected and loved by her clan, only a treacherous lieutenant working with the trolls of Bloodstone were able to capture her. When the rest of the group had been captured by the Shadowclaw Trolls, she met up with her clan once more and had quickly took command after singlehandedly defeating the traitor and his followers. When she learned from one of the traitors that it was the same trolls that had captured her once before were the ones that had most likely kidnapped the rest of the group, she quickly got her ogre allies rallied for battle.

Despite suffering heavy losses, the trolls of the Oceanaxe Tribe were now also added to our list of allies, being the key reason that a large number of the former prisoners of the Shadowclaw Clan had been secretly armed for the battle. Kalso Oceanaxe also now found himself chieftain of the tribe, for his father had been gravely injured in battle against the now dead chief of the Shadowclaw Clan. The troll personally oversaw the security and setting up defenses of our new base until we could begin our march once more to Grom'gol. Although victory had been ours, we came to the quick realization that it wouldn't be long before news would spread of what had occurred, which would likely bring all kinds of enemy factions to attack us for one reason or another. Kalso had his clan act as scouts while Thana Eagleclaws remaining ogres acted as stead-fast guards to the entrances. The forest troll Sana'taya, along with Cenkic, and Draken also offered their services to aid in the defenses from traps, to fortifying positions, and keeping watch for possible enemy movements.

While many of us stayed at the ruins, Genkic, along Dak'tar went ahead of the rest of the group to deliver a message from Thana Eagleclaw to the leaders of Grom'gol that the rest of us would be arriving soon looking for safe passage to our respective territories. Apparently the Horde members of Grom'gol owed Thana a favor, and she was using that favor to aid all of us, something everyone was grateful for. They also took with them a large number of coin to barter with the goblins so that they would hold their zeppelins long enough for us to arrive and to pay for our passage.

Meanwhile, the elder tauren Galkar, along with Tara, Tashi and Raknam set about locating as many demonic artifacts as possible from the fallen trolls and going through careful methods to destroy them utterly and totally so the fel magic could no longer affect the world. Galkar and Raknam were extremely prejudice, taking anything that even had the slightest hint of a fel aura and making sure no one else got near the items in question until they could be either purified or disposed of, while Tashi and Tara set about finding items that were magical without any demonic power that could be used by the remaining survives. Rak'natch and Karadan also helped in this matter, finding hidden rooms and trap doors that opened to even more items that were distributed to the survivers.

Also, while we had lost some of our numbers from the arena in the battle, many of the former prisoners of the Shadowclaws also joined with us, thankful to be rid of the troll menace. Their 'leader', for lack of better words, was a young paladin named Criselda Danser, who had been part of a group that had been hired like Genkics group by the same person to locate the Shadowclaw's whereabouts. Grateful for our aid in defeating the trolls, she in turn helped convince the former prisoners to help our own group while we prepared to make the journey to Grom'gol. While young, she proved herself quickly as a great leader as she helped with distributing supplies and aided by Onica and Lilly they creating a make-shift hospital for the many warriors who had been wounded. I was one such patient.

I myself had taken serious damage in the battle, especially on my right arm, which now lay heavy against my chest in the hand-made sling Onica made for me. Although I was told to rest and relax some, I couldn't bring myself to just sit around and do nothing while so many helped in various ways, though at first I couldn't find anyway to help in my condition. However, an uneasy feeling was building inside me, like something I hadn't accomplished, something that had been left undone. At first I thought it was some kind of fel taint, left behind by the dark magics the Shadowclaws had used in their summonings. However, the more I concentrated on it, the more I felt as if something was tugging at my mind, beckoning me to seek it out inside the ancient building that we were housed in. Trying to push it out of my mind, I allowed sleep to take me so I could recover my strength.

I saw myself floating over the ancient ruins we had housed ourselves in, and somehow I knew that these ancient ruins were once a mighty troll fortress that was used to battle an ancient foe of times before the well of eternity. As I watched the scenes unfold around me, a massive group of jungle trolls began attacking the fortress from the main gate, with our own defenders fighting and holding them off. Then, from the rear of the damaged fortress, from the same direction Genkic and I had come, dark trolls began emerging slowly, with demonic allies at their side. Then they charged forward, toward all of those who were hospitalized, with terrible weapons and magic at the ready for a brutal massacre.

I awoke with a start, breathing heavily as I took in my surroundings. It was night in the ruins, and those who were not on guard duty were doing their best to sleep. I considered myself lucky that I hadn't awakened anyone in the process. I began wondering about the vision I had seen, and I remembered how close the last one I had came all to close to being true. The odd thing was, I couldn't explain where the visions were coming from. Pushing those thoughts aside, I realized that we would be vastly outnumbered by the coming attack. I got up and prepared to warn the others of what I had seen, when I suddenly stopped as a strange feeling shot through my body. Turning slowly, I found myself staring toward a chamber that looked as though had collapsed a millennia ago. The strange feeling I had felt when I had first come upon the ruins, I could now feel clearly, and the strange energy was originating somewhere inside that chamber. Finding that my belongings were near where I had been resting, I slowly and quietly threw my back-pack over my good arm and hefted my trident in the same arm. Then I began moving slowly around the sleeping figures as I quietly made my way into the room. I stopped in front of the entrance, where a giant stone stood against any that might try to enter. I extended my hand slowly, and watched as my hand faded through the rock. I pulled my hand out and experimented a few more times, and when I found no harm, change, or damage to my arm, I took a deep breath and walked through.

Magical torches lit the room well, cutting through the darkness of night, though with my eyes I hardly needed to worry about such things. What I saw however, left me in wonder. While the rest of the ancient fortress was nothing more then old rock and stone, this giant room seemed to be in near perfect condition as magic flowed throughout it. Ancient, magical runes ringed the walls of this room, and the material that made the room was of one that I could not identify, a strange crystal that looked dark purple to the eye. I could only guess as to why the others hadn't discovered this room yet, or felt even a hint of its presence. As I slowly moved through this wonder, I found myself into the center, almost guided, and nearly falling into a drop point filled filled with water. As I got closer, I realized that the water was warm, like some kind of indoor bath, heated by an unknown source. As I stared into the clean, clear water, it was the first time in months that I had truly been able to look at myself, and I felt a small chuckle escape my lips as I looked at my battered form.

My scale coloration was something of an abnormally among the male naga, as was my size with the coloration. While most of the males of my species were large and muscular, especially those born with 'The Dark Blessing', or black scales, I was smaller and leaner, only a little larger then most females of my kind. Another abnormality that I held was my higher intellect, and my easy grasp and use of the arcane arts that drove our society. While I could not match the strength of some of the larger naga, especially the chosen myrmidons, the honor guards of my people, my magical abilities and power at the time could best even some of the most trained sorceresses of our time, an extremely difficult thing to do for any male in our female run culture. As I thought about my magic, and thought about the power I once had, I came to the only point of my body that was a very different color. When I had betrayed my people and fought against them, Azshara had drained my arcane power and my life force from my body. I was the first to ever survive, though it left two permanent scars along my eyes, giant red marks that looked as though I had been slashed my giant claws. My good hand subconsciously reached and slowly ran down the giant marks that would forever mark me as an exile of my people, and a reminder of what I had lost.

I gave a sigh. "At least they don't realize I'm alive." I said to myself, knowing full well that if my own had discovered I had somehow survived, that they would be quick to gut me.

Pushing thoughts of the past aside, I looked at the water again and smiled a bit as I slowly entered the pool, letting the warm, comfortable water wash against my scales. I let out another sigh as my body became fully immersed in the water. This time, it was a sigh of relief. It had been many seasons to long since I had last been underwater, and with this strange, magical water I had found, it was impossible to describe how good it felt, how relaxing it felt. For the first time since my banishment, at least for this moment, I felt at ease.

I'm not certain how long I was lost to the rest of the world before I finally managed to force myself out of the pool. It took some effort as I hoisted my body back onto the cold crystilian floor. It took both arms to support myself as I tried to bring myself back to the real world. My vision immidiatly went to my right arm. Looking at it carefully, I flexed my muscles a few times, and I felt no pain. I turned back to the water and looked at my reflection again. The many cuts and missing scales that laced my body had been completely healed. Only the bright red scars across my eyes were unchanged. The water had revitalized my spirit and my body.

I closed my eyes and concentrated, touching upon my magical energy, and to my surprise, it felt stronger then it ever had in months…but it also felt different somehow. I was no longer feeling just the primal arcane magic that I had become so accustomed to tapping during my time as a spellwarrior of Azshara. This form of the arcane magic felt more...natural, pure, untainted by the twisting nether, as if the corruption of the art had been removed from my mind and soul.

Opening my eyes again, I looked at the water that I had rested in once again. As I stared hard, trying to cut through the magical weave that surrounded it, to help me identify just what I had discovered within these ancient ruins. Finally the answer clicked in my mind, and my jaw went wide at the realization.

"Moonwell energiesss…" I spoke subconsciously, wondering at what seemed like the impossible. How had the magical energies from the night elves moonwell end up on the other side of the world, and inside a troll fort.

"Nightelves…Onica!" Realizing that my allies may be in danger from the vision I saw, I quickly grabbed my trident and my bag and rushed toward where I had entered, only stopping a few inches short of colliding into what looked like a solid wall. Concentrating, I pushed my mind to see beyond the illusion that stood before me. It took some effort, but I could feel the powerful magical energy that tried to hide the entrance from me slowly fading away. I watched as the wall began to slowly dissaper, revealing the broken down temple that I had come. It was still night time outside, and the occupants had not changed position much since I had left, leaving me with the impression I had only been gone a few hours at most. I heard no sounds of battle or cries for help, which comforted my mind, telling me that everyone was still safe and sound.

'Only for now…' I thought to myself, turning back into the strange room I had discovered. 'There is something here…I am suppose to find…'

I turned my attentions to the walls themselves, looking for some kind of hidden passage or other type of illusion that I could pierce through. My search proved fruitless until I approached the southern end of the room. It was there I noted strange runes that were imprinted on the wall. They looked familiar to me, but I couldn't place from where I had seen them.

"So this is where you've been!" A feminine voice screeched at me from behind. Whirling around, I found myself face to face with Tara. The young harpy girl looked as though she was ready to tear my head off as she glared at me.

Before I had a chance to speak, she pointed one of her sharp talons at me, mere inches from my face. "Do you have any idea how worried I was?! I was looking all over the place for you when I realized you weren't still in your bed! Onica is going to beat the Twisting Nether out of you if she finds out your not there!"

I thought for a moment and looked at her and giving her an honest shrug. "You call a ssstone platform a bed?"

"That's not the point!" She began, pointing one of her dangerous looking talons at me. "What in the twisting nether have you been up to?! You need to recover after the beating you took!"

As I was about to answer, I noticed that there were some runes on Tara's face, ones that looked as though they had been recently applied. The lines were curved like the wind around her face, while two ovals outlined her emerald green eyes. I guessed that it was used as some type of vision enhancement, though I couldn't guess how it worked. As the pattern sketched itself into my mind, I turned back to the wall...and noticed a symbol that looked very similar to her own. I looked back and forth between them for a moment, and came to a realization; both were of the same design.

"My woundsss have healed and I'm invessstigating sssomething, and I could ussse your help."

Tara's expression changed from a death glare to inquisitive curiosity. "Really? I can help out? How? Wait, how in the Nether did you heal so fast?!"

I suppressed a chuckle at her sudden mood change, and I had to remind myself that she still looked to be something of a fledgling harpy. Pushing the thoughts out of my mind, I directed her attention to the well behind her. "That spring contains healing properties. I must admit, I was surprised when I found myself healed and at peace with myself." I then directed her attention to the runes behind me. "I believe these runesss are the key to unlocking something that we will need for the upcoming battle."

Tara tilted her head as she looked at be with a confused look. "Huh? What are you talking about?"

"I'll explain it later." I then pointed at the runes that I myself could not decipher. "Tell me, do these look familiar to you?"

Tara walked up next to me and looked at the wall. She stared for a few moments before nodding. "Yes...some of them anyway...I didn't think the ancient textures would be here as well..."

"Ancient textures?" Tara grabbing my attention as I set down my back pack.

The harpy nodded. "My tribe tries does its best to preserve the past and live as part of the world, instead of preying upon it like the rest of my people. We do so through the use of runes that date back all the way to the time of the ancients."

As I listened to her, I pulled out a number of small vials and tools of an alchemist kit. "Interesting." I said as I sorted through the various items, pulling out several normal looking yet similarly shaped stones along with an assortment of glowing green and red vials. "I've never heard of any harpy clan like the one you described. What clan do you originate from?"

"We prefer the term tribe." Tara remarked as she continued to go through the ancient scripts. Anyways, I hail from the Moonwind Tribe, the only tribe to work with the night elves, or more notably, the Cenaurian Circle, based near Mt. Hyjals summit."

"Near Mt. Hyjal...isssn't that where the Well of Eternity is located?" I asked, while at the same time mixing the chemicals along with small amounts of my own arcane power into the stones, slowly giving each of the ten stones power that they had not held before.

"Yes. Where we make our home is the dwellings where the Great Raven once lived, in the time of the ancients." There was a moment of silence as Tara's tone changed, one of a longing to have what was taken from her. "It is there that we pay homage to our lost patron, by continuing to study the flow of arcane magic throughout the world, studying the magic of the runes, and keeping records of history of what transpires. We also assist the night elves in keeping watch over the great tree, and keeping it safe from harm."

"Most interesting..." I mused, thinking about the thought that there could be more harpies like Tara, ones that were nice, kind, and attractive. I took a moment to look at Tara while she was still studying the runes. Her wing feathers and hair were a beautiful sunset red that melded with her ocean blue body. I noted that she kept herself quite clean, unlike many of her kin, which only added to her charming looks and well kept body.

_'Where in the Nether did those thoughts come from?!' _ A little voice shouted in my mind, and I shook my head a few times as I tired, but failed to shake the thoughts away.

"So how did..." I began, trying to get my mind else where, realizing that my chatter was probably annoying Tara while she was trying to concentrate on the task I had given her. "I'm sssorry, I should not dissstract you from you're work."

Tara let out a small giggle. "Don't worry about it. Like you, I'm good at multi-tasking it seems, and I don't mind telling you about my home. You can ask your question."

I entered a moment of self conflict as I worked up the courage to ask what could be a very personal question. "How...did you end up in Ssstranglethorn?"

Tara's subtle movements stopped, and her cheerful expression went to that of a deep depression. At once I regretted asking the question. "I...I don't want to talk about that...I'm sorry."

Pulling myself away from my alchemist tools and turned to Tara. I began to reach for her, but withdrew my hand, gripping it into a fist, cursing myself for my foolishness. "No, I'm the one who should apologize. I asssked a question that wasss persssonal. Forgive me."

Tara turned and looked at me for a moment, and then I noticed the smallest of smiles appear on her face. "I..." She began, only to turn her head away from me and place her hands on the wall. I heard her whisper something in an odd language, and though I couldn't make it out, I heard what was either regret in her voice, or perhaps a prayer of some kind. Those thoughts disappeared quickly as the runes all around us began to flash to life. The pool in the middle of the room began to glow as well, and I could see something beginning to emerge. Hefting up my trident, I moved into a position past the alchemic tools I had laid about where I could also cover Tara in case of an attack. From the magical waters, a large orb slowly lifted into the air, emitting a strange purplish light. Suddenly an image of a great bird appeared from the orb, before a beam of light shot from it. I brought my trident up to block the attack, only for it to pass through both my weapon, and me. I turned and found it was also passing through Tara. Slowly we both moved out of the light and watched as the runes near the wall where Tara had been deciphering began to glow purple as well, and then a loud sound of stone grinding against stone echoed through the room as part of the wall began to move away from us, then disconnect itself into four pieces before disappearing entirely.

We both looked cautiously down the passage, and then each other.

"You're wrong." I said to her. "Onica'sss going to kill me."


End file.
